Final Fantasy Eight Chronicles
by John Tomorrow
Summary: This is a six part series, following the main FF8 characters - Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Quistis, Selphie and Irvine **NOTE** Part Five Complete! Squall's Day!! Can he take on four T-rexaurs at the same time??
1. Zell's Day

Final Fantasy Eight Chronicles – Zell 

On the tiny island of Balamb, just east of Galbadia and south of Trabia, there is an installation called Garden. Within this installation, children, from the ages of five to twenty, are trained in the use of paramagic – the ability to draw magical properties from monsters and use those properties in an elemental way.

This is also the place where SEED – a special, international mercenary agency, is run from. These children, the best of these children, are selected from the crowd and placed in the ranks of glory. SEED, famous for their precision attacks, their skilful manuvours, their unabiding strength and determination.

One of the most famous SEEDs is a teenager. Barely seventeen when he asatained SEEDship, his first mission had been to help a group of rebels, the Timber Owls, to regain Timber's individuality once more. He had help from some other SEEDs, but on the whole, his mission got sidetracked when a greater destiny was given to him.

*          *            *

There is a boy. About six feet tall, dressed in blue shorts and a short sleeved jacket, he trains in the Training Area. His spiky blond hair is the only give away that he is present.

Surrounded by ferns and trees, the boy sits, patiently, waiting for something to come to him. It was better to wait, he found, as it gave you time to gather your strength in order to defeat the next opponant.

_A Grat, a monster with poisonous properties, comes from the left; it's large bulbous tentacles swaying high above its fat body. A T-Rexuar, a high-level monster, comes in from the right, the big dinosaur roaring it's defiance to the world from having lived so long._

_It's prayers will be answered soon._

_The boy stood, rolling his shoulders back. He cracked his knuckles, shaking his gloved hands to loosen them, giving the air a few swift punches. He rolled his head to the side, then to the other, loosening the muscles in his neck. He then crossed his arms, thinking._

_Should he go for the T-Rexaur first, or the Grat? He wouldn't like to be put to sleep again by a Grat, but it's a little dangerous to have a T-Rexaur behind your back whilst you're fighting._

_He smiled, and took his position._

*          *            *

The door for the infirmary rolled open, and Zell limped out, his right arm in a sling, his left leg being supported by crutches.

His ears still stang from the verbal beating that he had received from Dr. Kadowaki.

Next time, young man, train with a partner! And stop thinking you can take more then one T-Rexaur at a time, by yourself!!

He grimaced as he hobbled down the corridor, the sparkling gold lacing around the railings, the large bubbling fountain in the centre of the area helping his headache. _Eat now, heal later._ He thought to himself, as he managed to squeeze past two girls standing just outside the Cafeteria entrance.

He stopped cold.

A line snaked it's way from the cafeteria's ordering desks all the way past the tables in the back to the cafeteria entrance. It would take him at least half the day just to get to the ordering area, and by that time his favourite food – _hotdogs!_ – would have been well and truly depleted.

He hung his head in shame and depression, his day not seeming to get any better. He raised his hand to scratch the back of his neck, but remembered too late that it was the one supporting his crutch, and he slid to the side and met the floor.

"Aiyaa…" he muttered. "Why does this happen to me?"

"Zell!" A girl called, and a pair of petite hands rolled him over. He looked up at the calming eyes of Selphie, the clear green turning from shock to confused worry. "What are you lying on the floor for?" she asked innocently.

Zell simply looked up at her. Selphie wasn't known for her brains, and when she did use them it was a shining moment. But most of her life passed her by in a myriad of trains and chocobos. She was obviously too caught up in something else to see his bandages. "Nothing, Selph. I'm…" he thought for something to say, to regain some of his lost dignity. "I'm…I'm just looking for…my crutch! Yeah, that'll do…"

_Great save, moron._ His mind screamed.

"Oh, ok!" Selphie said brightly, jumping to her feet. "Do you want a hand?"

"Yeah, if that's alright…"

Selphie helped him up, her flimsy frame covering her rather large strength. Her weapon of choice, the nunchaku, wasn't known for strength – but she could swing them for all she was worth. "Here, I saved a seat for you!" she squealed, dragging him to a chair and dumping him unceremoniously and painfully.

"Thanks…" he muttered ungratefully, before looking down at the plate before him, his eyes widening and watering at the same time. 

On the plate were three steaming, mustard and tomato sauce hotdogs.

He looked up at Selphie with tear filled eyes, his mouth opening but his brain so relieved and grateful that it couldn't process words. She smiled sweetly and leaned forward with her hands clasped behind her back. "You don't have to say anything!" she whispered, her smile seeming to widen with each word.

He nodded like a mad man, his mouth already filled with rich, hot, swimming in sauce goodness. He watched her wander off into the crowd, before wolfing down the rest of the hotdog in one gulp. The taste was exquisite, the sausage cooked to perfection, the sauces just the right consistency and texture, the bun soft and supple like a woman's thigh.

He was halfway through his second one when someone slapped him on the back. "Zell!! How are ya?!" Yelled Irvine, dumping himself into the chair next to Zell's battered frame. His weapon, a large double barrel shotgun, clattered noisily onto the table, landing dangerously close to Zell's remaining hotdogs. It was not allowed to have weapons inside the cafeteria – but people tended to let Irvine have his way. "Hey, have you seen Selphie? I've been looking for her all day, but so far no luck."

"Yeessh, I hvffnp szzn hrrr."

"Dude, that's disgusting. Chew and swallow, hey?"

Chew, chew, chew, gulp. "Yeah, I saw her." He said, spraying Irvine with half chewed hotdog. "She went off just a little while ago."

"Oh…ok…well, have you seen Quistis then?"

"I think she's marking report papers in her room. If I was you, I wouldn't disturb her."

Irvine stood suddenly, dragging the large shotgun to his shoulder. "Oh, come on. I'll just walk in there, acting all serene and things, and say 'Hey baby, put away the books and have some fun for a change'." He did a little spin. "Then I'll whisk her away for a day of fun and a night of foolin' around!"

Zell swallowed once more as a large figure loomed up behind the dancing Irvine, and a black-gloved hand closed over his shoulder. Irvine stopped suddenly, jerking at the suddenly physical contact, even in the crowded cafeteria. His finger jumped on the trigger of his gun, discharging both barrels, blowing a peppered hole in the roof of the cafeteria.

Zell continued to chew his hotdog thoughtfully, as if nothing happened, as every other person in the cafeteria ducked for cover, some girls and guys screaming. After a few seconds of nothing happening, the all stood and stared lasers at Irvine, who was holding his head in agony, the gun discharging beside his head wrecking havoc on his eardrums.

"That," A cold voice said, removing the gun from Irvines hand and opening the breech, catching the empty shells in one hand as they were ejected, "Is why we don't allow weaponry in the cafeteria."

Squall placed the empty weapon and the empty shells in the still stunned Irvine's hands and turned him toward the door, giving him a little push. Irvine tottered off, oblivious of all the evils people were giving him.

Squall then sat heavily in Irvines chair, holding his head in his hands. He growled momentarily, before looking up at Zell, his usually cold features now pale. "You look like a Marlboro gave you a hug." He said coolly, a rare show of humour for Squall.

Zell, content with his hotdog, shrugged as much as his painful body would allow. "At least I don't look like you when Rinoa walked in on you naked." He muttered, swallowing the remnants of hotdog number two by tossing it in the air and catching it in his mouth, swallowing without chewing. "You're face was almost as pale as it is now."

Squall's face revelled in repose. "She didn't…I mean, it didn't happen that way…I mean…" He regained some dignity and composure, before leaning close and whispering conspiritally in Zells ear. "If you tell…"

Zell raised his unharmed hand, wiping mustard and tomato sause from his mouth before raising two fingers, held close together. "Hey, no word from me, Scouts honour."

Squall leant back in his chair with a relieved sigh, before frowning. "Hard to believe you were in the Balamb Scouts…"

Zell snorted. "Hard to believe you weren't." He leant back in his chair, allowing the two delicious gifts from heaven to settle in his stomach before devouring the third and final one. "So how's it going with Rinoa, anyways?"

Squall groaned and leant back in his chair, his head lolling back. "It's like a nightmare that I can't wake up from. It's like one of those assignments that you have to complete but you know it's going to be awful. It's like taking on the whole Galbadian army with nothing but a chocobo leg."

"Not very good, huh?"

"Not at all." Was the answer that Zell wasn't expecting. "It's…great, in fact. It's like I have a whole new experience whenever I see her next. Good or bad, it doesn't really matter that much anymore." Zell looked over at his friend, who was sitting upright now, looking into the distance and sighing thoughtfully.

"Ah. You like being surprised." Zell said with an air of knowledge.

"Exactly."

Zell looked past Squall shoulder, seeing the threat as it creeped up behind him. Zell toyed with the idea of warning Squall…but decided against it, picking up his final hotdog instead. _If he likes being surprised, then let him be surprised._

Rinoa, dressed in her usual blue flowing coat and black sports-pants and top, crept up behind Squall, who was leaning forward to ask Zell something before being crash-tackled from his seat, taking the table with them.

Zell, in his usual _it-got-nothin-to-do-with-me-pal_ attitude, simply caught his plate and hotdog as they sailed back into gravity's comfortable grip.

He tried to ignore the cutesy-poo greetings that Rinoa peppered Squall with, who tried unsuccessfully to asatain his cold, loner image in front of all the people in the cafeteria.

When they finally dragged themselves off the floor, Rinoa nodded a greeting to Zell. "Hiya Zell! Gee, it looks like you've just tangled with four T-rexaurs in a row!" she said sweetly. Zell smiled and shrugged.

"Well, it was actually two…I needed the x-p."

Squall and Rinoa simply stared at Zell, mouths gaping, before Rinao turned to Squall, her face set in a frown. "How come you can't take on two T-rexaurs?"

"At the same time." Zell interjected, enjoying the show of emotion that drained onto Squalls face.

"Well…I …I could…" Squall muttered, thoroughly cowed.

"All by myself, too." Zell interjected once more. He smiled as the daggers conveyed by Squalls eyes were diffused by Rinoas cry of jealousy.

"Ooo, no way! At the same time, all by yourself?!" Squall was suddenly yanked away from the over turned table by a determined Rinoa. "Come on, you! You've got some training to do!"

"But…but…" Squall tried to break the death-grip, one arm flailing for Zell, who simply smiled and waved them away, chuckling as Squalls desperate gaze was brutally yanked away from view.

Zell smiled once more, before wolfing the rest of the hotdog down with a single gulp, smacking his lips and suddenly wanting more.

*          *            *

Zell now hobbled down a corridor to the dorms, his mind solely on sleep in the next few minutes. The hotdogs, persuaded by the drugs given to him by Dr. Kadowaki, had made him drowsy, and he tottered towards his private room with half open eyes.

In his half-drunken stupor he seemed to miss the fact that he had a physical body, and he collided with something soft and unyielding, which made a yelp of surprise. "I don't feel like playing right now, Baku." Zell muttered as he fell to the floor. "Come back tomorrow."

And with that remark, he passed out.

*          *            *

He smiled and took his postion.

_His smile suddenly melted away as the Grat was stomped into a greenish-brown paste by a giant, black and red scaled paw. The boy looked up at a second T-Rexaur, who looked down at the boy with it's beady eyes, cocking it's head to the left to get a better view._

_"Okies, this isn't good." The boy muttered to himself, looking over his shoulder at the first T-rexaur, who was beginning to use it's charge attack, jaws gaping. The boy retaliated instantly, flipping backwards and dropping down on the dinosaurs head, smashing it's jaws shut, using it as a jumping platform to launch him at the second T-rex._

_Flying through the air and flipping around, he held his hands out in front of him, palms together, fingers splayed. Summoning the power within him, he felt the cold lace through his body, but pushed it back and drew it into his hands, the power ebbing and flowing in his palms._

_The Blizaga attack, performed in mid air, blew the boy back, the kick from using such a powerful elemental being too much for his current trajectory. He screamed as the power flowed through him, his loud roar just lifting over the crackling of ice forming almost instantly over a short time._

_The attack, thankfully, sheared the top half of the dinosaurs head from it's foundations, leaving a icicle-filled wound, cauterised immediately by sever cold._

_He twisted in mid air, landing perfectly on the balls of his feet, and sideflipped as the body of his adversary crashed to the ground, deader then the Chocobo wings the boy had had for lunch the other day._

_He looked down at the dead dinosaur, then suddenly whirled around, his fists growing deadly balls of ice. An enormous head was beginning to lance down, jaws gaping, row upon row of razor sharp teeth looming before him._

_Concentrating a little more, the boy's ice-covered fists suddenly created long, jagged spikes. Jumping up high above the head as it missed its intended target, the boy came down ferociously, smashing the dinosaurs head with his feet, before grabbing purchase with his free hand and stabbing a spike-filled fist into the tough scales._

_The monster roared in anger and pain, flinging it's head up and down, left and right, trying to shake the parasite which had latched on and which would not let go, which was pounding painful cold into it's head an eyes again and again and again._

_The dinosaur finally succeeded, the boy suddenly losing his purchase on the scaly hide, flying ungracefully into a palm trunk, which he hit with full force with his shoulder. Yelling out in agony, he dug his icy spikes into the trunk as he slid down, allowing his decent to be a little less painful – and brief – then it usually would have been. When he reached the bottom the ice fell off his hands in large chunks, and he grabbed his wound. Shoulder broken. Not good._

_Injured now, his strength sapped from having to hold on atop the giant dinosaur, the boy could only watch as the T-rexaur walked forward slowly, shaking it's head to relieve itself of the pain._

_"Ah, crap." He muttered as the T-rexaur bent it's head down and roared._

*          *            *

When Zell came to, he didn't realise where he was. The roof looked the same as his own rooms, but they all had the dull light blue colour. He could hear somebody typing on a Desk. He frowned. If Irvine was using his Desk to look up porn again, he was going to whup his butt into next week…

Lifting his head, he suddenly realised that that wasn't such a good idea, what with him having a concussion and all. He groaned slightly, the sound emitted from his mouth more of a whimper then a groan, and allowed his head to collapse once more, the second heartbeat in his brain turning it's beat down.

Someone was by his side instantly, a cool cloth placed on his brow. He smiled and closed his eyes. "Ma? Is that you?" he asked hesitantly. "Oh, Ma, I haven't had such a good day today…"

"…You'll be ok…" Someone who wasn't his Ma said to him.

He suddenly sat up, recognising the voice, and turned to see the Pigtailed Library Girl looking at him sheepishly. In his usual Zell-ness, he gaped at her, the cloth slowly sliding off his brow into his lap. _It's that girl! The one that always runs away whenever I try to request a book! The one that gave me the Phoenix Down!_

"You must rest…" She whispered to him, pushing him back down. He fell back to the sheets without resistance; his sudden burst of strength fading quickly, the nagging pain returning. She picked the cloth up off his lap and replaced it onto his brow gently.

"…Where am I?" He asked drunkenly. The girl smiled shyly, looking down at her hands sheepishly. Her hair was chocolate brown, and was tied back in her usual pigtail. For some reason Zell found that sickenly cute…and he found nothing cute. At all!

She looked down at him with those gigantic blue eyes that she had, and flashed a rare smile. Not something that was thrown shyly across the library floor, and not one that was filled with fear and sudden regret if he ever asked her a question. "We're in you're room. You have nothing to worry about."

"How'd I get here?"

She shrugged. "You ran into me in the hallway…literally."

Oh, bloody hell.

"After I picked myself up, I saw that you were unconscious…so I managed to drag you to your room. I was amazed at where everybody had gotten to…something in the Quad, or something."

"But what about the palm lock?"

She giggled a bit. "You were unconscious. I just pressed you hand against the plate, and the door opened for me."

He tried to rise. "You shouldn't be in here…I'm an instructor, you're just a student…" He got halfway up before she pushed him back down firmly, yet gently. He managed to get a look at his Desk, however, and remembered that he forgotten to log off this morning. "What were you doing on my Desk?" he asked suspiciously.

Her blue eyes filled slightly with tears at the un-side accusation. "Don't worry." She whispered quietly. "I'm not sneeking a peek at my records or anything like that…I was just looking at your White Magic records…"

Zell frowned. "What for?" He had a killer headache.

The Pigtailed Girl placed a finger on her lip, thinking. "Ummm…it'd be best if I showed you." Standing slowly, she put her hands over his body. "Draw…" she whispered.

When magic is drawn from you, it's a strange feeling. It's like someone pulling your hair into your skull by the roots, but without all the distracting pain. It felt weirder the more powerful the spell, some of the more powerful spells making you feel like someone grabbed your head and flushed it down a toilet. You're whole body goes taut, as the muscles give a little life-energy in order to make the magic solid enough to travel.

Zell felt this now, as the magic was drawn from his body, white glowing balls of energy seeming to drip off his body and flow into the Pigtailed Girl's. His whole body flexed as she absorbed the energy easily, her clothes fluttering with invisible wind as the foreign and powerful magic took place in her brain. She took an uneasy step back, and breathed out slowly. "Whoo…"

Zell's head now felt very strange. It was as if someone had taken a jackhammer and drilled a hole in his head, scooped out his brains, then grabbed what remained and flushed it down a toilet. Mixed feels welled. "Ow…" he mumered. "I think I just re-broke my arm…"

She was by his side in an instant, placing a hand on his head and cooing gently. "Are you alright? Did it hurt? I'm so sorry! This was a bad idea, I'll go now – "

"Wait!" Zell almost cried, the Girl stopping in her tracks ,almost halfway out the door. "When you start something, you finish it."

She nodded to herself and walked back into the room. "Ok…I'm not so sure on how this is done…but we'll find out soon, right?"

Zell smiled. "Just as long as you didn't draw my Ultima magic, it ought to be alright."

She nodded, her smile more open now. "Ok…here I go."

For the Cure magics to work, the spell caster must place his or her hands on the skin of the spell receiver. You could do it from a distance, but the magic weakens as it travels through the air, so it's better to have physical contact.

She opened his jacket, and lifted his shirt, placing her hands onto his broad chest. Zell fought the urge to blush and sent mental messages to his nether regions to stay dormant.

Naturally, they refused.

Zell, now seriously blushing as he watched her prepare to transfer the healing energy, prayed to Hyne to not let her look at his pants.

Her eyes travelled his body, looking at the rock hard chest, the washboard abs, his trim biceps, his shorts – 

She blushed crimson. Zell mentally cursed Hyne more then he ever had in his life, even more then the time when he had had to take on a Red Dragon all by himself.

He listened as she drew in a breath, and quickly pushed the thoughts away, preparing himself for the influx of paramagic.

It started slowly, hesitantly. The green light seemed to spring slowly from her chest, until it bathed them both, little stars of white excess energy sparkling from her hands, floating up into the air before dissipating into nothingness. Zell felt his body swell, his chest growing, his arms, legs, head. Everything grew twofold, and his mind went on a trip.

He was lost in the whiteness of her eyelashes, still closed, strained with concentration. Her skin was milk white, adding to her fragile beauty. The brown ponytail flopped down past her shoulder, resting on her left breast, and he reached up with his good hand, stroking the hair with infinite gentleness – 

And then it was over. His inflated body seemed to puff out to a tremendous proportion suddenly, before shrinking down to normal size, and the Pigtailed Girl collapsed on top of him, too exhausted from the use of powerful magic to move.

Zell slowly came down from his energy-flux induced high, his mind slowly wrapping itself around reality once more. He flexed his right hand, and tested his arm. It was fully healed. He looked down at his leg, to see that the cast had shattered thanks to his metamorphous. He wiggled it a bit. No pain.

He sat up, allowing the Girl to rest her head in his lap, stroking her hair gently. "Thank you…" he murmured.

She opened her eyes tiredly and looked up at him, her blue gaze happy. "You're welcome." She whispered, before falling asleep.

*          *            *

_"Ah, crap." He muttered as the T-rexaur bent it's head down and roared._

_He did the only thing he could do. He ran, ducking through bushes, weaving through trees, jumping and flipping over rocks and boulders. "I gotta make it to the safe area…he can't follow me there…" he said to himself as he flipped over another rock, landing in a run._

_The sounds behind him didn't sound very promising. Creaking trees, crumpling bushes, smashing rocks. A ricochet sounded as a rock rebounded off a metallic surface – probably a gap in the dirt covered floor – and smashed him in the back of the head, causing him to fall, sprawling, to the ground. He landed on his broken arm and bellowed in anger and agony._

_He rolled over to see the dinosaur bearing down on him, with no sign of stopping._

_Drawing on all his remaining strength, he flipped up onto his feet, then backflipped backwards as the T-rex almost got him, it's reptile eyes blind with blood and rage as razor sharp teeth snapped onto thin air. As he landed he sent a volley of small ice shards at the huge monster, the Blizzara magic barely piercing the monsters tough hide – but doing more damage then any other elemental attack. He had used his last Blizaga magic to take out the second T-rexaur._

_There was a gunshot, and the monster suddenly turned – to see two other students, one blasting the T-rex with a shotgun, the other charging a Fire Spell. The boy tried to warn them, to yell to them to run, but it was too late – they were swept away with a swift flick of the dinosaurs tail, the boy hearing the sickening cracks as the scaly tail smashed their fragile skulls._

_Rage welled within the boy, blood running down his tattoo from a gash given by the flip up. He seriously considered using the Ultima Technique – but that would destroy the entire Training Centre, not to mention anything else within a fifty meter radius. No, he would have to use a different tactic. Flipping up into the air, he drove both feet into the dinosaurs head, driving it down into the ground with all the power he could muster._

_The dinosaur pulled it's head from the burrow it had created in the ground, shaking the stars and blood from it's vision. It spied it's pray standing, feet spread, one arm up and ready, the other hanging limp by it's side, and roared its fury at the tiny morsel that had inflicted so much pain onto it's ancient body._

_The boy roared back, anger and frustration welling up inside him, feeding his strength, filling his muscles with new energy. His blond hair stood on end as energy sparked from his body, blue static flickering and flashing as he threw his head back and roared again, pure ferocity making the giant reptile take a timid step back in confused fear._

_When the boy looked back at the T-rexaur, he had changed. He moved like greased lightening, suddenly appearing in mid air before the dinosaurs head, pulling it down into a brutal Booya, before spinning on one foot and Mach Kicking it right in the stomach, his foot only travelling Mach One right now. His Punch Rush still had something to be desired for, using one hand after all, but it still dented the tough scales on the dinosaurs body as the tremendously brutal force hammered again and again and again, before backflipping to gather some room._

_Amazingly, the T-rexaur was still functioning, it's body supported on wobbling legs. It roared defiantly, and snapped at it's prey, who suddenly appeared just to the left of the intended destination of the meal. The dinosaur snapped left, and the boy appeared right. The dinosaur snapped right, and the boy appeared left._

_Before smiling wickedly._

_Flexing his good arm, he threw his head back and screamed to the heavens, to Hyne himself, as he gathered the energy for his final attack. He took his position, setting his legs into a running position. "MY!"_

_He lifted his good arm in front of him to allow support. "FINAL!"_

_Finally, he allowed the energy to flow straight through him, blue static coursing over his body as his magic levels topped themselves, making his head feel like it was about to explode, but he was too filled with rage to notice. "HEAVEN!!!"_

_One second he was there, his body coursing with stored and latent energy – the next he was going Mach Five, his body moving so fast it sluiced through solid objects as if they were ethereal. His legs moved like pistons, moving so fast that he wouldn't have been even to see them, even if he had been paying attention. His good arm whirled beside him, the other arm swinging in motion too. His body seemed to gain speed with each step he took, his teeth gritting with effort as wind became a pastime._

_Up in space, two Esthar astronauts fumbled for their cameras as they saw a bright blue line of pure energy streak across Gaia, passing through Galbadia and Esthar before disappearing behind Gaia once more._

_Back in the Training Centre, the T-rexaur looked left and right. Where had it's prey gone?_

_It didn't need to worry about that anymore, as it spied something travelling extremely fast in the distance – coming straight for…_

_The boy suddenly materialised behind the monster, who stood stock still. Smoke laced it's way up from the boy's shoes and body, and his good fist was embedded into the metallic floor halfway up his elbow._

_Then the boy actually arrived, his fist smashing straight through the giant dinosaur as if he had punched straight through some meaty building blocks, the T-rexaur exploding almost on contact._

_The boy wrenched his hand out of the metal, taking a step back to look over the destruction he had caused._

_"There's gonna be a lot of T-Burgers in the cafeteria tomorrow." He muttered with a frown, eyes slitted, holding his broken arm, before the result of using My Final Heaven finally caught up with him, his left leg collapsing beneath him, plunging him into darkness…._

_*          *            *_

Zell woke with a start, sitting up in bed abruptly, his body bathed in sweat.

He looked left and right, trying to figure out where he was. Looking out the window, he saw it was dark. _No…not the infirmary…that's right, I'm in my room…and the Pigtailed Girl, she healed me using a Curaga Technique…and saw…oh, CRAP!_

He quickly looked left and right, in the bathroom, under the bed, desperate to apologise for doing what his body had done, but she was nowhere to be seen. He finally sat down on his bed defeated, disgusted at himself and his lack of self-discipline. _Super-smooth, Zell. She does you a favour and you go and do…that!!_

He looked up at his Desk and moved over to it, sitting down dejectedly. He looked down at the keyboard – to see a Combat King. The newest edition. _Strange… _He thought to himself. _I don't remember buying this edition…I don't think it's even out yet…_

He opened it up and flipped through it, but something just made it seem pale in comparison with something.

He looked down at the screen of his Desk to see that it was on – and there was a note on it.

Flinging the Combat King over his shoulder hurriedly, he opened the file containing the message. He smiled as he read it. She must have dictated it whilst he slept.

Dear Zell… 

_…Sorry for passing out over you like that. I guess I'm just not ready for that level of magic just yet, huh? Heh heh…_

_…Um, when I came to you had fallen asleep. You had looked like an angel, sitting there, you're eyes closed. It looked like you were having a bad dream, however. You kept grimacing and muttered something like, 'Final Heaven'. Still, you looked like you were getting the rest you deserved. And still looking cute…oops!_

_Ah…um…I left the latest copy of Combat King where you could find it. I'm sure that you'll like it just as much as I liked spending time with you today…even if we spent most of the time sleeping on one another…ooo, that sounds so dodgy, huh? I'm blushing!!_

_…Anyways, I hope you're feeling better. Oh, you don't need to repay me, or anything like that. Just the thank you was more then enough…_

_…Um…you're stirring…I'd better go…I'll see you around, or something…_

He looked down at the signature.

Angel Lee.

He smiled, leaning back in his chair, before flipping backwards out of the chair and landing on his feet in excitement and ecstasy, pumping his fist into the air, shouting 'Booya!!' for all to hear. She does have a name!!

This made up for all the dodgy things that Hyne did to him today. He flung himself onto the bed, smiling for all he was worth. Angel Lee…Angel Lee, the Library Girl…by Hyne, wait until Selphie hears about this!!

He fell asleep slowly, still smiling. Angel Lee…


	2. Selphie's Day

Final Fantasy Chronicles – Selphie

On the tiny island of Balamb, just east of Galbadia and south of Trabia, there is an installation called Garden. Within this installation, children, from the ages of five to twenty, are trained in the use of paramagic – the ability to draw magical properties from monsters and use those properties in an elemental way.

This is also the place where SEED – a special, international mercenary agency, is run from. These children, the best of these children, are selected from the crowd and placed in the ranks of glory. SEED, famous for their precision attacks, their skilful manuvours, their unabiding strength and determination.

One of the most famous SEEDS is a teenager. Barely seventeen when she asatained SEEDship, her happy-go-lucky attitude is infectious to her colleagues and misleading to her enemies. Always striving to make the world a happy place, her one dream has never been recognised…the Garden Festival.

*          *            *

She steps back and admires her work. A full month of work. Sweat. Tears. Broken nails. Silent ridicule from her peers and instructors. But she had finally finished. She had finally recognised her dream.

_Leaf green eyes check the banners, the supports. A small hand is resting lazily on a hip, her yellow dress flapping gently in the mid-morning breeze. She listens to the silence, disrupted only by the melodious tinkle of her nunchaku chain, and pushed a brown lick of hair from her sight._

_Her generous chest heaved slightly, the after effects of Haste ebbing slowly from her body. She had been working way before the sun came up, having to junction some borrowed Quake magic to her Strength in order to lift the heavy girders and support them whilst she drove metal spikes in with her hands, the spikes seeming to easily pierce the steel._

_Amazingly, even thought she had asked so nicely, even though she had made so many favours, had been given so many promises, not one person had helped. Not one person even came to the Quad when she was working, in fear that she would ask for help._

_But she never did. She never asked for help, never broke down and demanded assistance. She simply toiled on, to show the students and instructors how far determination would let you go._

_And the result stood before her. The stage was large, big enough for three T-rexaurs to sit, with room for a Red Dragon._

_A woman's voice spoke in the girl's head, cool and precise. "I must admit," the chilly voice said, the edges cold and icy. "It looks rather good, Selphie. An admirable achievement for a single human."_

_"Gee, thanks Shiva." The girl said out loud, her voice tinkling with pride and constant happiness. "That's really nice, coming from you."_

_The Guardian Force simply grunted._

_"Well, it's the thought that's counts!" the girl said, suddenly stretching her arms out wide. "Hffffwaaaaaaaa…I'm pooped." She yawned. "I feel like I've just been through five Grat battles."_

_She turned away from her pride and joy and made her way wearily back to her sleeping quarters, her mind still active even though her body screamed for rest. As she palmed her door open, she rubbed a hand on her chin._

_"Now that the stage is up…I'll have to decide on what music is to be played! And some plays!! Maybe even a re-enactment of the Sorcerer's Assassination!! Ooo, it's going to be so good!!"_

_She pulled her brown boots off as she sat on the bed, before pulling her yellow dress over her head. Tossing the articles of clothing into a corner, too tired to remove her underwear and put on her pyjamas, she simply snuggled under the sheets. Yawning once more, her brain finally slowing down, she muttered as she fell asleep slowly._

_"I don't think Irvine would like that, though…"_

*          *            *

The elevator door opened, spilling out several students, who made their way quickly from the exit as Selphie bounded out after them, holding a file and a touch pen. Literally jumping from foot to foot, scampering around after her students, she paused before a group of three boys. "Hey guys!" she bubbled. "Since Commander Squall has given the go-ahead for the Garden Festival, do you think you'd be able to join the Garden Festival Committee?" She cocked her head to the side, like a puppy did when it was confused. "Please?"

The three boys gulped simultaneously and looked at each other, mentally daring each other to go first. The boy to the left stepped boldly forward. "I'm sorry, Instructor Tilmitt, but I'd rather not spend my time on the Garden Festival just yet. I've got a lot of studies and training to do, as you've obviously noticed." His face was set like a rock, his eyes not even looking at the small girl, the only betraying factor the sweat pouring off his face.

"Oh, ok!"

Relief washed over the boys features.

"We'll just have to go over your studies later. I'll be expecting you after class tomorrow."

The boy almost collapsed. Instructor Tilmitts classes went for six hours, was a mixture of Desk work and physical training, and weren't a walk in the park. Betraying her looks, Selphie was one hard Instructor, her motto being 'You can do _sooo_ much better then that!!'

Selphie turned to the two other boys. "And what about you guys? You wanna join?"

The boys um-ed and ah-ed until she finally let them go, her determination not even chipped. "Ok, boys! Study hard!!"

"We will!" replied two very relieved students and one student contemplating suicide.

Selphie looked left and right when she had skipped to the bottom of the stairs and checked her clip-file. Tapping the green-screen with the pen, a small line crossed three names off the list. "That makes everybody in my class…not wanting to join." She paused for a minute, before shrugging and smiling. "Oh, well! I'll just have to hang around and ask some more people!!"

Suddenly there was a huge crash sound, then a loud explosion rocked the Garden. Selphie regained her balance as the shockwave rocked the Garden whilst in flight, but shrugged. _It's probably Zell training again. He always goes overboard with his training._

She walked in the direction of the library, barely noticing the wide berth students were giving her, as if she had leprosy. Walking through the small corridor was even worse, students bumping into walls or jumping through the windows into the bushes down below, not once even looking her in the eye.

When she finally entered the library, the number of people thinned dramatically, like rats escaping from a ship. Now in a nigh-empty library, she walked over to the information desk and rang the bell twice.

No one came out from the office beyond. "That's funny." Selphie said out loud. "There's a little light in the office that goes on whenever someone rings the bell." She leaned over the desk a little, trying in vain to see into the office. "Hellooo?" she called out sweetly. "Anybody home?"

"No." Someone replied.

"Oh, come on. Someone has to be in there."

"No. No ones in here. Please leave."

"If no ones in there, then to whom am I speaking to?"

There was a mixture of voices, before the office door was opened a crack, and a person shoved out. The door closed as quickly as it was opened, and the girl who was shoved out smiled awkwardly. "How can I help you?" the Pigtailed Library Girl asked.

"Hi!" Selphie said happily, smiling her million gil smile. "How are you?"

"…I'm fine…" the Pigtailed Girl replied. "…Do you need any help?"

"Yes! Yes I do! Wow, are we, like on the same wavelength, or what?"

The Pigtailed Girl laughed nervously. "…I don't think so…" she said shyly, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder at the very shut door behind her, before walking slowly to the desk, as if approaching a snarling Torama.

"Oh, come on!!" Selphie said, genuinely disappointed. "We so are! I bet you even know what I'm going to ask you!!"

The Pigtailed Girl smiled awkwardly. "If you mean you're going to ask me about the Garden Festival, and how it's going to be so good, and how there's going to be some really great bands and things like that, and if I'd only join up with the Garden Festival Committee it's be even better…then yes, I'd say we are on the same wavelength." She shrugged as if to say 'Oops, looks like you were right anyways!'

"Oh. My. HYNE! You are SO right!" Selphie said, clapping her hands in delight. "Soooo, will you join?" She stood with her pen poised over her file, but lowered her hand slightly as she saw the girl study her shoes.

"I'm sorry, Selphie." The Pigtailed Girl said awkwardly. "I really want to help you. Really I do! It looks like it'd be so fun! But I…" She hesitated. "…I can't. The library takes up almost all my time; I can barely find time to study and train. Joining the Festival Committee would just be too much…" Her voice trailed off, her blue eyes going all watery. "…I'm so sorry…"

Selphie felt her heart sink – before waving the girl off with a smile. "Oh, come on! There's no biggy! I'll find someone to take your place! No worries!"

The girl nodded her head in thanks. "Thank you, Instructor Tilmitt."

Selphie shrugged and walked off, further into the library. _Woe is me! Why won't anybody help me!?_ She did not want to repeat what had happened last year. It hadn't been all that fun as she had imagined.

She turned and walked past a stack of books – before pausing, turning, and looking down into the corridor created by the stack. A girl in a blue, flowing coat crouched low, searching the lower shelves for a book. Selphie saw that the coat has little white wings emblazoned on the back, right where the shoulder blades were.

"Rinoa!!" Selphie cried. "I didn't know you were here!"

Rinoa jumped a little, and looked up. "Oh, Selphie. You startled me." She stood, brushing a little dust off her shins. "You do know this is a library, right?" She held a finger up to her lips and smiled. "Shhh!"

Selphie, also smiling, face palmed and giggled. "Right! Sorry!" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was looking for Squall…but he wasn't in here, and I just began looking for books." She knelt down again, pressing her hand against the spines of the novels. "There are so many books here! Way more then in the Timber library! They even have old magazines!" She held up a copy of Pet Pals, the magazine for pet lovers. "Angelo is so going to have so much fun learning these tricks!"

"Wow…" Selphie said quietly. "I never know you were a bookworm."

Rinoa giggled. "I'm not always a Sorceress! And besides, it's better then Zone's hobby! All he ever did was lock himself in his room for hours on end, looking at his disgusting girly magazines." She grimaced. "Such a dirty guy…"

Selphie giggled. "Yeah, but he's cute in a weird kind of way. And Watts would be such a hottie if he lost some weight! I can't believe with all that running that he wouldn't lose some weight…"

"Yes. He did chase that train a lot."

Selphie grew a little serious. "Um…anyways, would, you like, do me the biggest favour?"

Rinoa stood, smiling. "What do you want me to do?"

Selphie looked down at her file. _She's not really a SEED…she's not even a student…but what the hell._ "Would you help me with the Garden Festival?" she blurted out, looking up with desperation in her green eyes. "Please? I'm getting desperate now!"

Rinoa looked at Selphie, who couldn't read her big brown eyes, her face blank – but then she smiled. "Sure! I was going to ask you anyways!"

Selphie's heart skipped a beat. "Really?! You mean it?! You're not going to, like, skip out at the last minute, or anything like that?!"

Rinoa waved a hand at Selphie in a 'Would _I_ do that?' kind of way. "Of course not! It's going to be so much fun, I can tell!"

Selphie jumped up and down on the spot, clapping her hand with glee. "Oh my Hyne! This is going to be so great! We're going to have so much fun, and we'll be able to make all these really cool decorations, and have late night meetings, and be able to raid the cafeteria for food for those late night meetings, and, ooo, and…" she paused suddenly, the happiness overloading her brain, euphoria getting to her. "Oh…I need to sit down for a second…"

Rinoa, with a worried look on her face, led her away to a reading seat, which Selphie sank into gratefully. _Wow…I never thought that she'd actually join. And of her own free will, too!!_ Selphie's mind blurted. _It's just unbelievable! I wont have to do everything myself this year!_

Rinoa relieved Selphie of her file and touch pen, tucking them under her arm. "Tell you what. How about you go and get a drink or something from the cafeteria and I'll start going around asking people to join. How does that sound?"

Selphie beamed up at her. "That sounds good, Vice President Heartilly!"

Rinoa laughed out loud, before performing a perfect SEED salute. "I'm on the job, President Tilmitt!"

The two girls then cracked up laughing, before Rinoa said her farewells and walked off, armed with the file and pen.

Selphie sat back in her chair, letting the feeling of happiness and relief wash over her like a gentle wave at the beach, lying back and letting it lap at her feet before rushing over her body.

A voice rebounded it's way around her mind, the pitch and tone small and chirpy. "Wow! Congratulations, Selphie!!" Carbuncle said, the Guardian Force's voice reflecting it's way around her head.

"Thank you, Carbuncle. I was actually beginning to lose hope for a second…"

"Of course you weren't! You were positive that you'd get someone to join sooner or later, and it happened…and to tell you the truth, some of the other GF's thought you'd never make it."

Selphie smiled, crossing her arms. "Oh, really? Which one?"

Carbuncles hesitation rebounded around in her mind, before he spoke again. "Well, I knew that you'd get someone…Shiva acts like she doesn't care, but I think she was hoping you would…but Doomtrain was saying that you'd never get anybody to join!"

"Well, we proved him wrong, hey Carbuncle?"

"We sure did!"

Selphie stood. "I think Rinoa is right! We ought to take a break and go celebrate!"

With that, she skipped playfully from the library. When they were sure she was gone, several students emerged from the stacks, some people climbing up from where they had thrown themselves out the windows. They all went back to doing what they were doing as if the whole conversation had never happened.

*          *            *

The girl was so tired that she slept through most of the day, the sunlight that had filtered through her shutters warming her bed pleasantly.

_She snuggled deeper into the covers, her dreams warm and happy – mostly concerning trains and chocobos, some a mixture of the two. She had tried discussing them once with Zell – but he had simply given her a strange look and wolfed down another hotdog._

_Suddenly a warning klaxon blared, a small red light emerging from a wall unit, blinking on and off in an urgent kind of way. The girl was awake in an instant, sitting straight up in bed, blinking the sand that the Sleep Grat placed in your eyes as you slept away._

_She looked left and right, confused, before Squalls voice rang out over the intercom. "Attention all students and SEEDS. We're under attack by the Galbadian Army." His voice, as usual, sounded cool and precise, not in the least bit scared or worried._

_"Galbadian Army!" the girl repeated shrilly, flinging the folds of sheets off her boy and jumping to the floor. There was more that Squall said, but Selphie zoned it out – she had a feeling that she didn't really need to know most of it._

_It was at that moment that Irvine chose to bound into the room, the emergency over-ride unlocking the door for him. "Selphie, we have to oh my Hyne."_

_The girl looked down at her body, seeing that she was only dressed in a bra and panties. Covering herself quickly with her hands, she shrieked loudly. "GET OUT YOU PERVERT!!!"_

_Irvine – almost - immediately snapped out of his drooling stupor, slapping his face with his palm in a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am!" He cried, about facing and moving back out into the corridor, giggling as he went._

_She quickly pulled on her yellow dress, grabbing her Flail and holding it to the ready, before moving out to the corridor._

_"Selphie, I…" was all Irvine got out before he was smashed unconscious by the nunchaku. Stepping over his twitching body, Selphie made her way quickly to the main entrance, where she was intercepted by Instructor Zu._

_"Instructor Zu, what's happening?!"_

_"Didn't Irvine tell you? Seifer's leading an all out attack on Garden!" Zu said, running past Selphie to a gaggle of junior classmen. "Get these kids to a safe area, dammit!" She yelled to a student, who nodded and herded the children towards the library._

_"Seifer…" Selphie muttered. "Seifer is attacking Garden…?"_

_She had no time to ponder the revelation as Zell ran up behind her. "Selphie! I'm glad you're here! Come with me!"_

_She followed Zell around the main area, confused to where they were going. "Where are we headed?" she yelled over the sounds of gunfire and exploding magic._

_Zell threw a look over his shoulder – one that Selphie didn't like. "To where all the action is!" he replied, taking a hairpin turn into the corridor leading to the Quad._

Oh no. Not the Quad! _The girls mind screamed._

_As they entered the main grassed area, she let out a scream of terror mixed with anger. The very first thing she saw was the mangled wreckage of the stage. The dream that she had work on for almost a full month, all by herself, put together by her own blood, sweat and toil, had been reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes._

_She looked around, watching the students try vainly to beat off the trained soldiers. A boy with dual pistols threw himself into the fray, guns blazing, his bullets hitting most, if not all of his targets, his screams of rage lifting over the sounds of battle – before his guns ominously clicked empty._

_He tried to reload in time, before he was beheaded by a ferocious swing of the serrated sword used by the Galbadians._

_A group of third level Fire students drew fire magic from their opponents, blasting volley after volley at their enemy – before they realised that the soldiers shrugged the flames off, laughing at the use of pitiful magic. One ran up, throwing a kick, but was cut down before it connected. The others were blasted by Fira magic._

_Zell, for all he was worth, was a whirlwind of pain, smashing a fist into the face of a soldier here, kicking the crap out of another soldier there. Bizarrely, chillingly, Zell laughed manically as he cut down another soldier, looking as if he was enjoying himself in the middle of the battle. A green soldier tried sneaking up behind Zell – but was cut down by a Thundara attack._

_Selphie lowered her hand, which still crackled with the lightening magic, and drew her Flail. She spied three Galbadians moving towards her, and spun the Flail, flinging it left and right, displaying her skill to her opponents._

_They laughed simply, before rushing her all at once._

_Obviously, a big case of underestimation. The first got his head caved in by a Flail spin, the second kicked in the groin before being slapped to the side, and the third fried by another Thundara attack._

_Spinning on her heel, Selphie suddenly blasted five Galbadians advancing on some junior classmen with a Firaga attack, the smell of cooked flesh mixing with the pungent aroma of gunpowder and blood. "Run!" she snarled uncharacteristically. "NOW!"_

_The kids, wetting themselves from this display of a new, deadlier version of the usually kind and gentle Selphie, ran for the doorway inside quickly._

_A load of buckshot whistled past her ear, and Selphie turned to see four more Galbadians trying to rush her, these ones armed with shotguns and rifles._

_A gunshot rang out – Selphie span her Flail – and a Galbadian dropped dead, the bullet bouncing off her weapon to ricochet into an advancing enemy. The soldiers paused in their advance, now seeing the little girl with green eyes and a yellow dress differently – but this only gave Selphie time to power up her next attack._

_Spinning the Flail, she suddenly caught it, drew an insignia in mid air, and simply vanished in a puff of green light._

_The last thing that the soldiers heard her say was 'Shiva'._

_Then a large ice block suddenly appeared from the ground, sprouting like a plant from the dirt. Inside the ice block was a scantily clad woman._

_Zell, instantly recognising the GF, quickly ducked, covering his head with his hands._

_All the Garden Students did the same, to the bemused amusement of the Galbadian soldiers. Almost every one of them lifted their weapons up high, readying themselves for the killing blow – before they all stopped._

_A cracking sound rang out over the Quad. The same sound that occurred if you leave ice in a very hot place._

_Suddenly the iceblock shattered, spraying the area with icicles. The woman, her beautiful features tinged blue, waved her hand over the surroundings._

_Every single Galbadian soldier suddenly became a block of solid ice, their bodies locking rigidly in place, their weapons shattering due to the immense and sudden cold. Amazingly, all the frozen soldiers could still see as the woman raised her hand…_

_…and snapped her fingers with an echoing 'Click!'_

*          *            *

Selphie had just reached the entrance to the cafeteria when she saw Zell wandering up, bandaged up like mummy, wrapping around his head and an arm in a sling, with a crutch under his left arm supporting.

_Poor thing…_ she wondered, quickly stepping into the cafeteria and seeing the humongous line. _He'll never get his hotdogs now…_

Suddenly smiling and clicking her fingers, she managed to wade through the swarm of students and managed to find the staff entrance. Subtly slipping in, she walked up to one of the cafeteria workers. "Hi, Koren!" she beamed.

Even with all the yelling and bustling students crammed up against her window. Koren turned and smiled at Selphie. "Hi, Selphie!" she replied in turn, a little flustered. "What can I do for you?"

"I might want to talk to you about food arrangements for the Garden Festival later on, but for now could I borrow three hotdogs? I'll pay, of course."

"Not at all, dear, go right ahead and take them. I owe you more then just a few hotdogs, that's for sure."

Selphie removed three hotdogs from the oven and sprayed them liberally with tomato sauce and mustard. "You don't owe me anything, Koren." She said quietly.

"Yes I do, dear…yes I do."

The two women looked at each other for a few seconds, a silent exchange happening across the kitchen floor, before Koren nodded to her and turned back to the annoyed mob of students.

Selphie walked out of the kitchen carrying the hotdogs on a plate, lost in thought. She set the plate down on a table before she heard a terrific thump. She whirled around to see that Zell had fallen to the ground, on his face. He wasn't moving.

"Zell!" Selphie cried, concerned for her friend. She ran to him and rolled him over to see a bored and pained expression on his face. "What are you doing on the floor?" she joked.

"Nothing, Selph. I'm…"He looked left and right, before grabbing his crutch. "I'm…I'm just looking for…my crutch! Yeah, that'll do…"

"Oh, ok!" She figured that he was returning the joke, and sprang to her feet, glad he was alright. "Do you want a hand?"

"Yeah, if that's alright…"

She helped him up, his medium build and size misleading his weight. They had actually weighed each other once, as a joke, and Zell had come close to Selphie's weight. He had looked down at the scales and simply shrugged._ 'I suppose this explains why I can move as fast as I can!'_ he had said with a laugh.

She dragged him over to their table and sat him down. "Here, I saved a seat for you!" she said gleefully, not wanting to wait to see the look on his face.

At first it was one of ungratefulness. "Thanks…" he muttered, before spying the plate of freshly cooked, steaming, swimming in sauce hotdogs. Then he was all tears, looking up at Selphie as if she was a goddess.

"You don't have to say anything…" she said as he choked on air, then launching himself into the delicacy, as if he hadn't eaten in days.

Her good deed done for the day, with Zell now looking like he could take on the world, she turned and moved through the crowd once more, looking for the drink dispenser. Finally finding it, pressing the button for banana sundae, she turned to see Seifer standing in behind her, waiting his turn.

She looked up at him, and he looked back down. He was, in search of a better word, _huge_. His physical mass wasn't very big – but his attitude and the way that he demanded authority seemed to make him expand so much more. His voice was as cold as Squalls – but with just a hint of malice. "Have you seen Dincht?"

It sounded like someone scratching a rusty nail over a rock, but Selphie only flinched a little. "He's hurt. Leave him alone."

Seifer pushed past her and grabbed her drink from the dispenser. "That's what I want to talk to him about." She feared that he would toss it down the disposal chute, but he simply passed it to her and knuckled the button 'coffee'. "He was training yesterday, and got into a spot of trouble. He had to use a Limit Break." He threw a look over his shoulder, which chilled her to the bone. "My Final Heaven."

The name of the Limit Break chilled her to the bone. She had seen Zell use it on three separate occasions, two whilst on the Sorceress quest, and one after, and all times it wasn't pretty…but she brushed the thoughts aside like a chocobo feather. "And?" she said defiantly, sipping her sundae.

A loud gunshot rang out over the cafeteria, all the students ducking, screams of panic rising from the crowds. Selphie turned to see Squall relieve Irvine of his shotgun, pressing the eject stud and catching the empty, smoking shells as they flew out. She turned back to see Seifer looking as well, his eyes narrowing as Irvine walked out in a dazed state, before turning to see that his drink was finished.

His coffee cup now filled with the steaming bitter liquid, he removed it and turned to face her. "_And_ he destroyed two walls in the Training Centre, not to mention several properties around the world." He sipped the hot beverage. "The Garden Security committee got a call today from Esthar saying that they saw him travelling at speeds somewhere around Mach eight and higher passing over Galbaida and Esthar. They even got pictures taken from space." He took a sip of the hot coffee.

"Owowowo…" Seplhie murmured. "That's not good."

"No. No it's not." Sip.

"So what are you going to do?"

Sefier shrugged. "I'm going to have a talk to him." A 'talk' with Seifer usually took anywhere between three to ten hours. Selphie knew that in his current state, Zell wouldn't last very long, no matter how strong he was. He sipped the coffee again.

She grabbed Seifer by his shirtfront, almost making him spill his beverage. "Pleaseeee don't talk to him! I'm sure that he didn't know what he was doing!" Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of Zell being put away for defending himself. "Please?"

Seifer pushed her away gently, before straightening out his shirt. He seemed to be thinking about something, his face blank as he sipped his coffee. He then turned to her. "Fine."

She beamed at his back as she watched him walk away. "Thank you!!!" she cried, waving happily.

He simply waved his hand at her in a dismissive fashion, as if to say 'I didn't really want to waste my time with the Chicken Wuss anyways'.

Smiling and sipping her banana sundae, she moved back through the crowd to see Rinoa walking away with Squall in tow. Squall had a look of panic over his usually passive face, whilst Rinoa had a look of determination. "Hey Rinoa!" Selphie cried out, running after them.

Rinoa turned and smiled. "Hey Selphie!" Squall seemed to be holding his breathe, looking from girl to girl.

"I thought you were going to get some people for the Garden Committee?" Selphie said scoldingly.

Rinoa suddenly put a hand to her mouth. "Oops! I forgot about that!"

"Oh, Rinoa…" Selphie said, disappointed.

"But don't worry!!" Rinoa said quickly. "I managed to get some people! Eight, in fact!!"

Both Squall and Selphie looked at Rinoa in dumbfounded confusion. "Really?!" they said simultaneously, before Squall suddenly seemed to remember who he was in company with and shut his mouth.

"But…but how?" Selphie asked, bewildered. _She got eight already, and I've been asking for ages!!_

"I simply said that their contribution will be put on their permanent record, which will be helpful later in life. I also promised a few that they could perform if they wanted." She smiled cheekily. "I've also made a few favours, like helping them with their homework and things. If you want people to work for your cause, you gotta know what their weak points are." She drew herself to full height. "Trust me. I'm the leader of a resistance faction, you know."

Selphie smiled and giggled. "Wow! Cheeky! But who did you ask?"

Rinoa placed a finger on her bottom lip, thinking. "Ummm…I asked Irvine, and he seemed happy to accept...then I got those three girls who always hang out around the Garden Directory…one of the library girls…and some other people, I'm not sure who. I just marked their names down on the file, and put it in your room."

Selphie shrugged. "Ok. I'll gather that up and see you later."

"Ok!" Rinoa pulled Squall away, who had been subtly trying to walk away. "Come on, you! You're going to defeat two T-rexuars by the end of the day! No, Three!!"

"Aiyaaa!" Squall cried. "Help, Selphie!!"

Selphie smiled. "Only if you join the Garden Festival Committee." She said cheekily, taking a leaf from Rinoa's book.

Squalls face paled, before turning to look at Rinoa, who was still tugging at his sleeve. His mind deliberated between physical pain and a little hard labour, and he turned to Selphie, dragging Rinoa after him.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, his voice neutral once more – but with a hint of reluctance.

Selphie smiled and jumped from foot to foot, clapping her hands with glee as Rinoa looked a little downcast. "Hey! It does work!!!"

*          *            *

_Selphie suddenly reappeared in a puff of green light, a few feet off the ground. She dropped to the ground gently, landing on her feet, her face still grim._

_Shiva turned to her, bowed, and disappeared in a blast of cold air._

_Selphie looked around her, slightly disorientated. All the SEED students were picking themselves up fro the ground, some brushing ice from their bodies, others running to wounded comrades. She looked down at a large chunk of ice lying on the ground before her and rolled it over with her boot._

_A Galbadian face looked up at her, the shattered remains frozen in terror._

_She kicked it away, shock and horror cascading into her mind, wiping away the destructive force that had momentarily overcome her._

_Zell ran up to her, catching her as she collapsed, her slim body seeming to float into his arms. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "What did I do, Zell?" she asked desperately, her voice quiet yet shrill._

_"What you had to, Selphie…" Zell said, as serious as a bullet in the face. "What you had to."_

_A woman ran, screaming, into the Quad. "Someone help me! Help me!!" she cried, tears streaming down her face._

_Zell lowered Selphie to the ground and ran over to the woman. "What? What's wrong?"_

_"They've taken over the cafeteria! They've taken all the junior classmen hostage, and said that if they aren't allowed to leave soon, they'll start killing them off one by one!" She began to cry more. "My son's in there! You've got to help them!!"_

_Selphie managed to pull herself from the ground, and staggered over to where she had dropped her Flail. Turning around, she saw Zell walk up. "You're too weak, Selphie…" He said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to sit. "The Shiva Summoning took too much out of you. Rest here. I'll sort this out."_

_"They have guns…" Selphie muttered. "Even if you cast Haste, you'll never be able to dodge or deflect a bullet." She pushed herself to her feet. "I can feel the energy flowing within me, Zell. I'm almost at my Limit…but I need help to get to the Cafeteria."_

_Zell paused, thinking – then looked over at the cafeteria lady. He then turned to Selphie and nodded, placing an arm under her legs and hefting her easily._

_She began to feel light headed, the effects of too much energy build up at one time. She needed to release some pressure…looking down at Zell, she realised that he was injured, a knife gash on his shoulder, and two bullet wounds that had ripped through his ribs. He was sweating heavily, droplets running channels down his face._

_She placed a hand on his brow, and whispered a word. The Curaga spell worked almost instantly, the flux of energy flowing through her body reducing the effort to draw and pinpoint magic to nanoseconds. She watched as his wounds healed almost instantly, his face drying, his features becoming a little rosier. He smiled at her and nodded his thanks._

_They arrived at the Cafeteria entrance, where she asked him to put her down. Standing on wobbly feet, she staggered through the entrance, coming to rest at on of the little niches just on the outside of the doors leading in._

_"Shut up, you little brats!" someone yelled over the sound of crying children, a shotgun blast ringing out over the children's screams of terror._

_Selphie, her vision going red, suddenly stood a little straighter. Holding her hand out in front of her, she cast Haste, the Time magic making her reaction times, muscle speed and reflexes almost triple._

_She moved as a blur, the door not seeming to open as she quickly passed through it. There were about fifty soldiers – as well as a General soldier, a Galbadian dressed in red. The General saw her immediately, holding his gun-hand up, spinning the barrels attached to his wrist._

_Bullets spewed forth, ricocheting around Selphie as she moved to a wall, bouncing off it to gain some more momentum. Her Flail whirred out before her, creating an impenetrable shield, the Generals bullets simply bouncing off the spinning metal._

_She was amongst them now, her head bursting with energy, her body starting to glow a bright yellow. The soldiers all drew their projectile weapons, and Selphie ducked and span as the air around her became riddled with bullets. Suddenly, with a flick of her hand, all the guns simply melted, the Fira spell cast within them making them turn to molten metal._

_Spinning the metallic sticks of death, she smashed in the head of the first soldier, jumping up and off his body to ram her knee into the soldier standing behind him. Landing on the balls of her feet, she flicked the Flail to her left and right, cutting down soldiers to her east and west. "Do over!" she screamed suddenly, the light around her abruptly glowing more brightly. She smiled._

_Selphie suddenly back flipped away from her position, which instantly turned to swiss-cheese as whirring wrist barrels spewed ammunition. She flicked around, snarling as the General twisted his body to follow her movements – but to realise that she had disappeared._

_Stopping his onslaught, he looked left and right trying to find where she had disappeared.  The remaining soilders began to over turn tables, whiklst some others looked behind the cafeteria bench. The General sighed and began to walk forward to help with the search - until he felt a tap on his shoulder._

_He turned slowly – to see her drop down from a hole in the ceiling, yellow light glowing around her. She casually wiped some shotgun pellets off her shoulder, before smiling._

_She raised her hands, her Flail hanging limply from her wrists, and traced a pattern in the air, the insignia carved out of the yellow light around her, before her and all the children vanished._

_The Generals face turned pale under his helmet as his mind processed the last word he heard her say._

_"Ultima, times two."_


	3. Irvine's Day

Final Fantasy Chronicles – Irvine

On the tiny island of Balamb, just east of Galbadia and south of Trabia, there is an installation called Garden. Within this installation, children, from the ages of five to twenty, are trained in the use of paramagic – the ability to draw magical properties from monsters and use those properties in an elemental way.

This is also the place where SEED – a special, international mercenary agency, is run from. These children, the best of these children, are selected from the crowd and placed in the ranks of glory. SEED, famous for their precision attacks, their skilful manuvours, their unabiding strength and determination.

One of the most famous SEEDS is a teenager. Barely seventeen when he asatained SEEDship, his major was projectile weaponry. Becoming the top in his class as a sniper, his fame as a dead-shot was overcome by his luck with the women. However, his dependence on guns became his weakness, when other skills were needed…

*          *            *

There is a boy. Clothed mostly in leather, his brown coat flowing over his gun holsters and a large sheath for his big double-barrelled shotgun, he looked a lot like a cowboy. A large, wide brimmed hat covered his long brown hair, casting a cool shadow over his green eyes. His face, which could be described as nothing less as handsome, was now sweating bullets, his features like rock, his eyes lodged on one person.

The woman stood tall before the cowboy, her slim figure clothed in a figure-hugging purple dress which sent the mind into a spiralling whirl with it's long drapes and revealing nature.

_The Galbadian Garden's lecture hall had seen better days, though. Great chunks of wall lay distributed all over the floor, thanks to random blasts of magic. Some carpet was still smouldering in a corner after the Firga blast, and the large flowing drapes had gone up as fast as quicksilver._

_The woman raised a long-nailed hand, her beautiful face curled into a sneer._

_The cowboy suddenly erupted into flame, and he fell to the floor screaming, rolling to smother the fire. The woman laughed shrilly, clutching her sides as the cowboy fought the flames desperately. Her purple robes seemed to ripple with power as she watched the poor boy overcome the flames._

_The flames finally out, the leather coat now a smouldering mess, the boy suddenly erupted to his feet, his large shotgun drawn and pointed, with one hand, at the woman, who was still laughing. She seemed to miss the point where he cocked the large weapon, large hammers being drawn back into full-action._

_"Matron!" The boy screamed. "This is where you stop!"_

_"You seem not to understand, my child." The woman replied, crossing her arms defiantly. "You are all alone. You have no real power. What do you think you will be able to do to me that you're colleagues could not?"_

_The cowboy faltered, looking down at the two figures lying unconscious beside him. The girl had raven black hair, and was stunningly beautiful, clothed in a blue flowing coat with tiny white wings emblazoned on the back. She lay on her belly, not moving. The boy wore a black outfit, leather and chains. A large gunblade, a sword that doubled as a gun, lay just out of his reach. His brown hair was plastered onto his face with sweat, as he looked up at the ceiling, too weak to do anything._

_The cowboy looked back up at the woman. "I know I'm nowhere near as powerful as them…but that doesn't mean I can't try."_

_And the large gun fired, both barrels spewing buck-shot death._

*          *            *

Irvine turned to his students. "Now, in order to hit the target, you must concentrate on a section of the target. Take the bulls-eye, for example." He twirled around, his long coat flowing around him, and two handguns suddenly appeared in his hand, the fifty-yard bullseyes suddenly being blown to smithereens.

He turned back to his students, twirled the guns expertly, and let them drop back into his sleeves. "Did you see where the bullets first hit? From the top _down_. That way, even if you miss your _intended _target, you can still wound or maim, which can be a lot more easier in the long run." 

A student suddenly raised his hand. Irvine pointed at him. "Yo."

"What did you aim for when you shot at the Sorceress?"

Irvine frowned. "…I aimed for the head. Which brings me to my point. The quickest kill isn't always the best kill. When I shot at the Sorceress, I aimed for the head. Unfortunately, she predicted the attack, casting Protect on herself before the bullet hit."

"Why didn't someone cast Dispell?" The boy asked.

Irvine's face grew serious. "As you all know, magic does lose most of it's potency over a long range. Only strong magic, such as the Ultima Technique, can still do the same damage over large distances. Casting Dispell would have been fruitless, as well as stupid. She would have seen our position, and what's the first rule of sniping?"

"Never give away your position!" All the students said in unison.

"Alright." Irvine said with a nod, before a beeping emitted from his wristwatch. "Ok, class dismissed." He watched as the students got up from the grass, dusting off their backsides or retrieving their weapons. "Remember, I'll be testing your quick-draw skills and reflexes next week, so practice, practise, and have fun!"

Most of the students nodded and bade their farewells, moving back toward where the Garden sat. Some moved over to the mobile firing range, picking up and studying Irvine's skill. Others strolled, either making their way to Timber or simply wandering the large field in groups or pairs.

Irvine sat down in the grass, lost in thought, his eyes fixing on no real point as they strayed to the morning sky. His face looked worried, almost panicky. _That was too close. If the class hadn't ended, I might have been in a real spot…_

His hand suddenly whirled up, his pistol pointed at the boy who had asked the first question. The boy looked a little shocked, and Irvine loosened his hand, the gun sliding comfortably back into it's catch, which was strapped to his wrist. "What is it, Jeheyt?" Irvine asked quietly. He hadn't even heard the kid come, yet his weapon…

"I just wanted to ask…why didn't someone cast a spell against Sorecess Edea? I mean, I would have thought that fightin fire with fire would have been the best offense…" He paused as Irvine began to chuckle out loud. "What? What is it?"

Irvine was smiling as he tipped his hat over his eyes, lounging back into the grass, his hands supporting his head. "Boy, if you had seen the power that Edea had possessed back then, you would have thought that sniping would have been the best option too."

"I've checked the records, Irvine. Both Squall and Rinoa used magic in their attacks against Edea…but you didn't. You just used your Quick Shot, or your Shotgun Blast… you didn't even cast Cure on yourself or your teammates."

Irvine didn't move from his position – but his smile had melted away, it's replacement a whole lot more sinister. "What's your point, Jeheyt?"

The boy moved forward and lifted the hat from Irvine's eyes, smiling down with malice. "My point, Instructor, is that I know your secret."

The boy's head moved back slowly, the double-barrelled shotgun lodged under his chin forcing him to move slowly. Irvine's eyes were filled with rage as he spoke quietly. "You have no idea, boy."

"Oh, I have an idea, Irvine." The boy said slowly. "You're impotence when it comes to magic is your only flaw…apart from your attraction to pretty women." Jeheyt slowly raised a hand, pulling the gun out from his chin and moving it back towards Irvine slowly. "No one knows this secret – except for Squall, of course. Bt he won't be concerned in what I have in mind."

"And what's that?" Irvine spat, his gun pointed away – but not completely – from the boy.

"I want you to give me access to the Instructors Files."

Irvine was suddenly on top of the boy, his double-barrel mere inches away from Jeheyt's face. "You're as crazy as an Imp. You expect me to just give you access to the Instructor Files?!"

"Not if you want you're secret to be known by every student, Instructor and SEED on campus." Jeheyt said calmly. "Oh, you can shoot me, if you really want to. But there are at least ten or so more witnesses around us. And besides, how would you explain yourself?"

Irvine got right into the boy's face. "Maybe I'll tell everybody about what a spy you are. Then they'll believe me."

"Not when they read the notice I've pre-recorded into my Desk. The one that activates on my death. They one which points to you as being my murderer."

Irvine's eyes narrowed – but he said nothing. Jeheyt raised his eyebrows. "So we're in agreement?" 

When there was no reply, the boy rolled out from under the gun's sights. "Good. I'll contact you soon. Just keep you're ears and eyes open." He patted Irvine's shoulder. "Don't worry. No one will know it was you who gave me the access codes. I always keep my contacts confidential."

And he strolled away in the Galbadian sunlight.

A stiff breeze flowed around Irvine, who stood rock still, his gun still pointed at the imaginary Jeheyt, lying on the floor. _My secret…_

A gun blast echoed around the field, causing every person in the field to turn to see who had fired – but all they saw was Irvine reloading his shotgun, moving towards Timber.

*          *            *

_And the large gun fired, both barrels spewing buck-shot death._

_Sorceress Edea raised her hand, a green globe forming suddenly around her. There was a sound like something rebounding off a balloon, and the globe flared briefly. She smiled defiantly. "Remind you of something?" she asked innocently._

_Both barrels spent, not bothering to reload, the cowboy threw the large gun down and raised his hands quickly, the two Vincent Valentines jumping up from his sleeves into his palms, his fingers wrapping around the comfortable grips. The handguns were dark and smooth, well looked after for such an old make of gun._

_Squall looked up at Irvine, his voice barely audible. "What are you waiting for?" he whispered. "Draw some magic from her…"_

_Irvine looked down at Squall, lying in a puddle of his own blood. "I…I…"_

_Edea looked at the cowboy through the green globe, before laughing out loud, peals of laughter echoing around the caverneous lecture hall. "You can't?!" she cackled, the tearing truth slashing through Irvine faster then a Grendal with Haste cast on it._

_Irvine stood for a second, hesitating as his secret was revealed. He looked down at Squall, who had looked away, his eyes closed, his head turned._

_For some reason, this made Irvine mad. "So? So what if I can't use magic? I still got these!!" He shouted, twirling the pistols on his fingertips. "And that's all I need to take you down, Matron!"_

_The Sorceress raised her hands, the air growing cold. Shards of ice formed around her, and began to fly at the cowboy, who flipped backward, guns blazing, the bullets ricocheting and rebounding off the Protect spell – which grew weaker with each bullet._

_The area around him now suddenly filled with flying shards of death, the Cowboy began to really perform. Not even concentrating on one target, his guns whirled and blazed, great serrated chunks of ice blown to cubes. Two came at him from the front, which he effortlessly cut down. One swung around to attack his back, but he raised the gun over his ear, shooting blind, the bullet blowing the ice into dust. The sorceress made some more icicles, these one bigger then the first ones, and launched them at the cowboy._

_Watching the ice fly towards him, he expertly ejected the empty clips from his handguns, which landed, smoking, on the ground below him. Not even stopping to pass one gun to the other hand, he grabbed two clips from his belt and threw them in the air, holding the guns beneath them, upside down. The clips slid expertly into their destinations, the slides clicking into place as soon as the clips entered the guns._

_The Cowboy then began to stalk forward, the guns dancing in his hands as he flicked them, Cajun style, at the ice shards, as if the action would make the bullets travel faster. The air became filled with ice dust, as bullet after bullet reduced serrated permafrost into ice slushies._

_A little perturbed, Edea raised her hands once more, the fingernails crackling with electricity…_

_…and watched as a Thundara rippled down from the sky, through the roof of the lecture hall, and coursing straight through Irvine, attracted by the lumps of metal he held in his hands._

_The lightening coursed through him, making him jolt and jiggle, before the magic finally died down. He stood there for a second, his coat smoking even more, a small hissing noise coming from his weapons…before he doubled over._

_Edea smiled, crossing her arms…but then heard the laugh._

_Irvine stood easily, clutching his sides as he laughed harder. When he saw the Sorceresses expression of confusion he laughed even harder, slapping his tight and stamping his foot._

_Wiping a tear from his eye, he looked at her with humour in his eyes. "You…you think that just because I don't know magic I don't have defenses for them?" He stamped his foot once more. "Rubber soles." He lifted his coat. "Lined with rubber…and fireproof." His good nature turned slowly into a glare. "I'm not stupid, you know."_

_And then he was in front of the woman, pointing his guns at her head, the barrels of both weapons pressed against the Protect bubble. The woman took an uneasy step back, confusion and distress creeping into her features, destroying her confidence._

_The cowboy smiled, his hands rigid, his guns at the ready – before blasting away, the bullets blowing the Protect spell back, the magic holding the spell together barely stable. His face now twisted in determination, his guns flaring in spectacular repetitions, he flipped backwards as they clicked to empty._

_Quickly whipping out two more clips, he slammed them into the guns before blasting the bubble once more, the bullets slamming deeper and deeper, making more and more dents, until it looked like the bubble would pop. Shells tinkled as they hit the ground like raindrops, the smell of gunpowder and blood mixing and assaulting the senses._

_There was the sound of an almighty pop, and the Protect spell exploded, throwing the Sorceress back, and Irvine was suddenly on top of her, his smoking pistols aimed straight at her face – _

_As they clicked empty._

_The Sorceress smiled haughtily as he dropped the weapons defiantly, taking his coat off and stepping back as she regained her footing. "Finished now, boy?" She asked, her voice regaining most of it's former egotism as she stood, her hands starting to crackle with dark energy._

_"I'm nowhere near finished, Matron." The Cowboy muttered, reaching behind him to pull out a Dincht Mark Five, the lever action rifle levelling at the woman. Flicking the lever over, he reached into a pouch attached to his belt, removing ten shells, which smoked with dark energy. In the space of three seconds, he had loaded them, snapping the lever action closed, before flicking the large weapon down over his hand, chambering a round._

_"Fight fire with fire…" he muttered as he raised the custom-made gun with the blessed Dark Shot to his shoulder…_

_*          *            *_

Irvine spent most of the morning walking aimlessly around Timber, looking at this, examining that, and simply trying not to think at all. Unfortunately, it didn't work, so he made his way back to Garden.

When he entered the main entrance, he saw Jeheyt standing, talking to the doorman – then wave to Irvine, as if they were buddys.

Irvine felt like throwing up. _Why the hell does he want to tinker about in the Instructor Files anyways? Is he trying to cheat to get himself better grades?_ He walked past the blackmailer, trying not to look him in the eye. _Or is he some kind of spy? Some kind of Galbadian spy? Esthar spy?_

Moving through the Garden quickly and quietly, he went to his room, palming the access button. The door sliding open for him, he walked in and sat down heavily on the bed, sighing for all he was worth. "Why does this kind of thing happen to me?" he asked himself. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

He had always told himself, throughout his life, as soon as he found out that he was an expert shot, that the life of a gun fighter was a lonely one. Gun fighters on Gaia were marginally smaller compared to the rest of the weapon wielding population, who preferred to use other, more traditional weapons – knives, swords, nunchaku, whips, fists and feet. The only people who used projectile weapons were, in most cases, considered cowards, compensating for their weakness in strength with nigh-defensive guns.

However, guns were usually contradicted by magic. A good Protect spell was all you needed to walked through an entire room full of gun wielding maniacs, and come out with little or few injuries. A gunfighter who knew magic, therefore, was considered an unstoppable force.

However, a gunfighter who _didn't _know magic, especially a crack SEED, was considered a person who could run before he could crawl.

No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much practise he put in, no matter how much he poured over the notes and texts, or sat through even the most basic magic classes, he couldn't cast any magic. Not even the small ones, like Fire, or Blizzard.

He was, as Jeheyt put it, magically impotent. The name was actually a textbook referral – 'a person who simply doesn't have the ability to use or Draw magic.'

It was the nice way of saying that you were one rung down the evolutionary ladder.

He removed his hat and sat back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. _What's so good about magic anyways? In a lot of ways it's like using a gun…you store ammunition, then you use it._ He sighed once more and pulled himself to his feet, sick of the defeatist attitude the morning had bestowed on him.

He needed to think! And out of the two things that he did that helped him think, he had already done one today. And he didn't want to waste any more ammunition. It was expensive!

Which left scoring with chicks.

Hefting his shotgun to his shoulder, he opened the door to his room and walked out, trying to figure out who he should ask out today. At least it would keep his head clear about the incident.

_Who first?_ He thought to himself as he entered the main corridor. _Maybe I should ask one of the twins near the Directory…or maybe one of the Library girls! Yeah, that Angel girl is a pretty good catch…but maybe a bit too brainy._

He leant against a wall suddenly, pulling his hat over his eyes as he thought it over. _I haven't spoken to Selphie in a good while…ever since we took care of the Sorceress she's been pretty distant…_ He rubbed his smooth chin, the Vincent Valentine hidden in his coat sleeve knocking against his chest. "Maybe it was the Galbadian incident…" he muttered out loud. "Yeah, she's probably still a bit ticked off about me barging in like that…" He shrugged. _Chicks are like that. You wouldn't see me screaming and yelling at some girl to get out if they barged in on me when I'm half dressed…but she must be over it by now…hopefully._

He stood straight, his mind set. _Right! I'll go find Selphie. Hell, maybe she'd be able to help me…_

He suddenly did a double take, quickly going over what he had heard about Selphie in the past few days. _She'd still be looking for people to join in for the Garden Festival…oh well. Sacrifices have to be made in the pursuit for love._ He smiled. _Pursuit for love…_

Moving through the Garden quickly, he checked the Library, Infirmary, and Training Center. Moving through the Center cautiously, his Valintines at the ready, he stopped to look over the destruction. SEEDs cordoning off the two gigantic holes in the walls to stop the monsters escaping, Irvine felt safe enough to holster his weapons, and walked up to one of them.

Tapping the girl on the shoulder, he smiled as he saw who it was. "Instructor Xu! How are you this lovely mid-morning?"

Xu smiled and batted her eyelashes. "I've been good, Instructor Irvine."

They both giggled, sharing the joke. Xu had been an Instructor way before Irvine ever thought of staying at Balamb Garden. Irvine had just recently asatained Instructorship, and amazingly had been doing a good job with it, warming to the almost constant companionship that comes with teaching. At first they had been at loggerheads with each other – Xu's disciplined approach, chiding tardiness and pushing her students to their physical and metaphysical limits, versus Irvine's relaxed approach, not bothering to keep a roll and letting the students take their time. After time, however, they had learned to tolerate each other – then began to talk a little – then bagan to have luinch together…

…There had also been a rumour going around that Xu and Irvine had had a quiet fling together…

"So…you haven't been returning the messages I send to your Desk." Xu said, half serious, half joking. "You dumping me already?"

Irvine scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, a bad habit he had gotten off Zell. "Hey, baby, you know I'd never do that!" he said quickly, seeing the disbelief in her face as she crossed her arms. He instantly lowered his arm. It was an obvious show of embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah…" she said, dropping the subject, to Irvines relief. "…So what are you doing here?" she asked, uncrossing her arms and running a finger down his yellowed leather coat.

Irvine smiled. "I'm looking for Selphie. Have you seen her?"

The look that took over Xu's face was a look that Irvine had seen many times before – intrigue mixed with jealousy. It made the lower half of the face go deadpan, whilst the rest of the face mix into a frown. "Why?" she asked in a slightly haughty tone, her hand dropping to her side.

"I just need to talk to her about stuff…you know, about the students, and things."

Xu's look made it obvious that Irvine was looking for no such thing…but answered him anyways, crossing her arms once more. "She's been walking around all day, looking for some people to join the Garden Festival Committee. She's supposed to have a class right now, but it ought to finish any minute…"

_Cool! I'll be able to find her easily then! She usually goes straight to the cafeteria after a class!_ "Thanks!" Irvine said out loud.

"Don't mention it…" Xu replied, turning her back to him and waving her hand over her shoulder in a dismissive way.

Irvine stood around for a minute longer, before craning his head over her shoulder to look at her. "Sooo…aren't you going to tell me what happened here?"

Xu rolled her eyes, not bothering to turn around. "Zell took out two T-rexaurs yesterday." She said it as if it happened every day.

"Two!?" Irvine exclaimed, wide-eyed, his jaw dropping to the floor.

"All by himself too. Esthar called Squall today, saying that they've had complaints from all over the world filed in today and yesterday. Things like massive property damage, that sort of thing. The same kind of phenomena also happens when Zell uses My Final Heaven. Esthar actually had some astronauts take some pictures from space."

"Really…" Irvine said, surprised. _Zell always goes all out when he trains, but to take out two T-rexaurs all by himself is a bit extreme…and to be forced to use My Final Heaven…" _He shook his head. "Thanks, Xu. I'll see you around, ok?"

Xu didn't answer as he left the Training Centre.

Making his way to the Cafeteria, he spied Jeheyt walking from the Dorms. Bile rose in his throat as they moved closer, and his grip tightened around his shotgun, but he swallowed and tried to keep his eyes on the ground.

Until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Spinning instantly, he smashed the shotgun butt into Jeheyt's face, spinning the student to the ground. Irvine was on top of the boy in an instant, the twin gun barrels lodged directly in the left eye socket of the little blackmailer.

Irvine took a little smugness from the sheer terror that was shown briefly in the boys face – before he looked up at all the people watching.

Irvine slowly removed his gun from the students face and offered a hand. Jeheyt looked up at Jeheyt with malice, before taking the hand.

"That's why you never sneak up on a SEED." Irvine said, loud enough for everybody to hear. "You never know what we might do." People around them tittered with laughter, before moving about their daily lives.

Jeheyt looked at Irvine with unconceiled hatred. "You'd better thank yourself that you didn't follow through with that little stunt." He muttered through clenched teeth, his whole body seeming to shake with rage.

"Let me just remind you…" Irvine said, tipping his hat down. "I don't like doing this. I've got a reputation to uphold. So you'd better give me some slack to play with, or I will throw caution to the wind."

"Whatever happened to a sniper not revealing his position?"

Irvine remained slient.

Jeheyt wiped a little dust off his butt and knuckled his eye socket. "I'll contact you tonight. Just make sure you are around…or else everyone will know."

"What happens when I give you the codes?"

"That's not for you to know."

"How do I know that you'll use me, then expose me all the same?"

Jeheyt smiled maliciously. "That's not for you to know." He moved past Irvine and began to walk down the corridor, before stopping suddenly, something poking him in the small of his back.

Something much like the barrel of a gun…

"Bang." Irvine whispered in Jeheyt's ear, removing his finger from the student's back.

Jeheyt paused for a second, Irvine not able to see his face – before moving on, disappearing into the crowd.

Irvine smiled, blowing imaginary smoke from his index finger. He had called the little punk's bluff, and had come out with little more then a threat and an evil glare. It had  been a dare – but it had shown that the kid had the will and stomach of a Galear – fleeting and light.

_He obviously knows that I wouldn't shoot him – not unless I had a really good reason. He also knows that I walked a very thin line just then – getting right in his face like that._

_I'm going to have to keep treading lightly. I can't push him anymore – unless his threat might just become reality._

Shrugging and trying to put the incident behind him, he concentrated on the task at hand. _Forget about the Jeheyt incident. I'll burn that bridge when I get to it._

Moving into the Cafeteria, he looked around for the familiar brown hair and yellow dress, but there were too many people crammed into the cafeteria to see anything of value. "Aiyaaa, I'll never find her in this crowd…" he muttered depressingly.

He picked his way through the massing bulge of students, most of which were crammed against each other like canned sardines. Picking his way through, finding tiny blank spots to gather breath, he was finally flung out into the seating area. Looking around for her, he spotted Zell, bandaged like a mummy and trying to wolf down one of his favourite hotdogs with only one, unbound hand.

He walked up behind the fighter and slapped him heartily in one of the places without bandages on his back. "Zell!! How are ya?!" he yelled over the crowd, dumping himself into the seat next to the damaged warrior. He placed his shotgun on the table and leaned closer. "Hey, have you seen Selphie? I've been looking for her all day, but so far no luck."

Zell muttered something through a full mouth, spraying the area liberally with crumbs and half-chewed sausage. "Dude, that's disgusting. Chew and swallow, hey?" Irvine said, wiping the crumbs off his face.

He watched as the fractured fist fighter chewed and swallowed enough hotdog so that he could talk. "Yeah, I saw her." He muttered, gesturing over his shoulder with half a dog. "She went off just a little while ago."

_Dammit!_ Irvine cursed in his head. _She could be anywhere by now… He tried not to show his concern in front of Zell, who would have been too busy burying himself in food to notice. __Who else would be able to help me? Rinoa? No, she's with Squall…I know! Quistis! After Rinoa she's the strongest when it comes to magic! She'll be able to help me._

"Oh…ok…" he said out loud, deftly squashing the awkward silence in the conversation. "…Well, have you seen Quistis?"

Zell paused to swallow a huge lump down his throat and wipe some sauce off his mouth with a gloved fist. "I think she's marking reports in her room. If I was you, I wouldn't disturb her."

Irvine stood then, dragging his large gun and nestling it on his shoulder. _Gotta keep an alibi going…mustn't let him suspect the truth…Zells not as blunt as he seems. "Oh, come on." He said out loud, really laying it on. "I'll just walk in there, acting all serene and things, and say 'Hey baby, put away the books and have some fun for a change'". He span on the spot, imagining her swooning into his arms. "Then I'll whisk her away for a day of fun and a night of foolin' around!"_

Suddenly, shockingly, he felt a firm grasp on his shoulder. His finger jerked on the shotgun trigger, blowing both barrels and creating a tidy hole in the roof. It also sent his eardrums scuttling around inside his head. The crowded cafeteria was suddenly muffled, as if someone had stuffed cotton buds into his ears.

He dropped the large weapon and clutched his ears, trying to keep his brains from leaking out of his ear holes. He absently realised that someone had opened the breech of the gun, handing him the weapon as well as the empty shells, and gently pushed him in the general direction of the exit.

He gratefully staggered away, clutching his head and trying not to return the empty and angry stares that almost everybody bestowed upon him. Moving out into the corridor, he slumped onto a bench, placing the shotgun beside him and placing the empty shells in his pocket. Breathing in deep, his held his nose, closed his mouth and blew as hard as he could, popping his ears, his hearing returning – not as good as before, but it was better then cotton hearing.

Shaking his head, his mind finally clearing from the shock, his heart slowing, he instinctively reached into his pocket and reloaded the shotgun, before standing slowly. He had the sudden urge to go have a lie down, and was moving down the corridor when a hand was placed on his shoulder once more.

He had half turned before his world was turned upside down, slamming his back onto the ground, his gun rising – before he realised he was looking down the barrel of a gunblade.

Looking past the razor sharp tip, past the gun-barrel just above the tip, he saw a shock of blond hair, cut to almost military regulations. Seifer looked down at him, his face blank. "You know the regulations on weapons in the cafeteria and classrooms?" he growled, his voice like serrated ice mixed with sheet iron.

"Yeah…" Irvine muttered defiantly. He realised that the two of them were in a stalemate – his shotgun was pointed at the head of security's groin, whilst Seifer's gunblade was a mere inch away from Irvines scalp.

"I've been getting a few reports here and there about it. Make sure it doesn't happen anymore…" He withdrew slowly, before spinning the large weapon expertly and sheathing it in a hip holster. "…Or else you'll spend a few nights in the discipline ward." With that, he turned on a heel and moved away, stalking through a pack of junior classmen, brushing past them as if they were long grass. The kids gave him a wide berth, and hurled silent insults at his back when he was gone from earshot.

Irvine picked himself up from the floor, dusting himself off. _Lucky he finds me a worthy opponent…otherwise he would have chucked me in there anyways._

Irvine had been the one who had defeated Seifer at the Garden battle, blasting his gunblade to pieces before knocking him to the ground with the butt of his shotgun. Seifer had considered it a worthy fight, and had always looked at Irvine with a reluctant honour. He never usually showed it – unless something like that happened, preferring to knock him around then actually do anything to him that would be a permanent mark on his record. After all, Irvine had spared his life – it was the least Seifer could do for the gunslinger.

Irvine, his hearing and balance beginning to return to him, made his way to Quisitis's room slowly, moving through the dorms with care, not wanting to run into Jeheyt again. The kid had the brains of a Blobra – but he did have the power to ruin Irvine.

Coming to Quistis's door, he looked down at a sign placed on the front, for all to see.

Busy. Please return later.

Irvine read the sign, then shrugged. Knocking twice with a knuckle, he waited for someone to answer.

He heard some shuffling inside the room, but no-one answered the knock.

He knocked again. "Quistis? Are you in there?"

More shuffling.

"Quistis, I can hear you moving in there. Open up! I got to talk to you."

Someone muttered something, and suddenly the door opened. Quistis stood in the doorway, holding onto the doorframe and the door's edge, blocking the way into her room. With her blonde hair pulled back into a bun, dressed in an orange dress with thigh-high black boots and dreamy-blue eyes, she was extraordinarily beautiful.  "What do you want?" she asked, the brutality of the question slightly shocking Irvine. 

Of course, she had always been a little rougher around him – she didn't really like him that much. Plus, with Squall and Rinoa working out as well as they were…she had been eating herself up inside…and whenever he had tried to help her, she simply pushed him away.

Irvine, feeling slightly cowed, pushed his hand into his coat pocket and began to play with the extra shells hidden in there. His other gripping the shotgun a little more tightly. He bowed his head. "I…I need…to talk to you about something…"

She smirked. "I'm busy. Come back later."

She began to close the door – but his riding boot quickly stabbed into the opening. He removed his hand from his pocket and put it on the doorframe. "Please!" he pleaded. "I need to talk to you!!"

"Oh, come on!" she spat. "You've tried every other way to get me into bed, but pulling a desperate plea is a little too much, don't you think? Isn't that a little too undignifying, even to you?!"

She opened the door a little more – then swung it hard, crushing his foot with the door and the doorframe.

He grimaced a little – but the pain was marginal compared to what he had experienced. He grunted and looked into her eyes. "Please…" he pleaded pitfully.

She looked at him with a mixture of confusion and intrigue. "You…you really just want to talk…?" she asked slowly, still holding the door with one hand and the frame with the other.

"Yes…" Irvine said, letting out a long breath. "I just want to talk."

She looked at him suspiciously – then opened the door fully, waving him in.

He smiled at her gratefully, and walked in, setting the gun down next to the door. She closed the door and walked over to the Desk, moving a stack of papers from the extra chair that she used when she tutored students to the table, and gestured for him to sit.

He did so gratefully, spinning the chair around and straddling it. She moved to the bed and sat down there. "Ok. I've just put off marking some very important papers, all just so I can talk to you." She looked at him with muted anger. "So you'd better make this good."

Irvine nodded sadly. "Oh, it's going to be good. I'm sure you're going to get a real kick out of what I've got to tell you…"

*          *            *

_"Fight fire with fire…" he muttered as he raised the custom-made gun with the blessed Dark Shot to his shoulder…_

The Sorceress, realising what he was up to, quickly flung her hand up, fingers splayed, her jaw tightening as she drew on the unlimited well of power inside her. Her Protect spell destroyed, she quickly screamed a word, a red bubble springing around her.

_Irvine hesitated suddenly, grimacing as the Reflect spell grew quickly around her._

_He tried to get some shots past her before the spell took hold. Placing the gun to his shoulder, he fired round after round, the Dark shot blasting off the bubble and destroying walls and tables with explosions of Forbidden Magic. _

_She began to chuckle manically as the light reflected off the bubble ever so slightly. "You forget, boy! Even with you're blessed bullets, I have a counter for every one! Magic cannot pass through this Reflect spell, and you're ordinary bullets will not be able to peretrate it either!"_

_She pointed at him defiantly, cackling some more. "Now, put down you're weapons, and I'll allow you to die quickly."_

_Irvine frowned. Why did she want him to drop his weapons? Why didn't she just blast him to smithereens with some of her own magic?_

Because if she used magic, the spell would be Reflected on her!__

_"Of course…" Irvine muttered to himself. "The Reflect spell has always been a double edged sword. I wonder if…"_

_"I said, drop you're weapons!" She screamed._

_Irvine smiled, mischief in his eyes. "Make me."_

_Disbelief and awe mixed with confusion and a deep-seated rage mixed on Sorceress Edea's face. Irvine found it delightfully amusing. "What did you say?" she grinded through gritted teeth._

_Irvine did a small bow, and placed the gun on his shoulder, resting the butt in his hand. "I said, make me…if you can."_

_The mighty magicker was now seething in rage. "I could crush you in an instant, just like I did your friends. You are all nothing more then bugs to me!"_

_"Then show me you're mighty power. Squash me like a common bug. I dare you." Irvine grinned like a schoolboy, and did a little dance. "Go on! I'm right here! Kill me! Take me out! You got me dead bang!!"_

_The Sorceress, now almost insane with anger, raised her hands, screaming a death cry as power welled in her hands. Irvine slowly stopped dancing as he recognised the makings of the Flare Techinique, a magic ranking with Ultima and Quake._

_Amazingly, Edea's Reflect shield was still holding, even as she sucked the very essence of her body to annihilate the boy before her, who had spurned her power. The red globe reflected the light perfectly, even as the massive energy grew in her hands, the ball of intense power glowing like an ember from hell._

_Irvine blinked._ Will she lower the Reflect? Or will she throw it anyways?? _He thought to himself, taking his Dincht Mark and levering the action, pushing the last bullet out of the breech. _Got to make this one count._ Reaching subtly behind him, he opened a small ammo pouch and removed a bullet which was so powerful, he only ever carried one with him._

_He had found it when he had broken Squall and the others out of the Sand Prison. Moving through one of the rooms, he had seen it lying on the floor – glinting in the poor lighting, shaking and trembling on the cold metal floor as the immense power of Ultima flowed through it._

_Placing the Pulse Ammo into the breech of the gun, he cocked it, flipping the gun over his hand, spinning the lever on his finger, catching the rifle as it flipped back perfectly. He felt the weapon in his hands tremble as the single bullet sat in the chamber. Readying himself, pushing his feet back to get the best friction as possible, he rasied the gun up to his shoulder._

_Edea's Flare magic had been successfully formed, and with a look more brutal then the cold stare that usually occupied her eyes, cast it, holding her arms out as the power pulsed through them into one gigantic beam._

_She had lowered the Reflect! Looking up at the massive wave of energy bearing down on him, he sighted Edea quickly and pulled the trigger._

_The power of the bullet smashed him back, flinging him backwards like a rag doll as it blasted itself from the barrel like a bat out of hell. The Dincht Mark literally went to pieces, shattering in his grip as he bounced past Squall and skidded to a stop somewhere near Rinoa's unconscious form._

_The bullet, filled with the ferocity of Ultima, beared the brunt of the Flare Techiniuqe, pushing through the blast like a rocket returning to Gaia. Sparks flew, flames erupted as Edea upped the power, but the bullet continued to carve a deadly path _through_ the beam, to smash into her body – and explode in a dark energy wave!_

_Edea's screams of agony were muffled by the multitudes of sonic booms, which went off as the Ultima released overlapped them all. Unlike the Ultima magic when cast, which could target specific people, the Pulse ammunition was a wild card, blowing everything from it's path like a Iron-Giant ploughing through a forest._

_When the rubble finally settled, Irvine managed to pull himself from a pile of rocks, badly bruised and beaten, but alive none-the-less._

_Looking through the rubble for his comrades, flinging rocks and beams to the sides as he desperately searched for life, he finally found the gloved hand of Squall. Pulling him out, seeing that he was barely breathing, he popped a potion bottle from one of his ammo pounches and poured it down his throat._

_As Squall began to recover – the potion would only heal a minority of his wounds, but it was a start – when Irvine suddenly heard a noise._

_Whirling around, he saw _Sorceress Edea pick herself up from the rubble!!!

Not one for physical violence, Irvine looked around for a weapon – to see his Vincent Valentines lying a way away.

_Diving for the weapons, ejecting the spent clips and slamming in fresh ones, he walked slowly towards where the Sorceress stood, on trembling feet. He was amazed that she had managed to survive an Ultima blast to the face._

_He moved right up to her and placed his gun barrels on her temples, his face grim. The action made her stumble backwards, falling to her knees, head bowed. Irvine moved forward once more and replaced the guns where they were before, this time nestled in the jet-black hair, long and flowing._

_"I'm sorry, Matron…" he muttered, his fingers squeezing the triggers, his head turniung away as he predicted the blood and brains splattering over his body…_

_"Ir…Irvine…?"_

_Irvine paused. "What…what did you say?" he whispered._

_"Irvine…" the woman looked up – and the deathly murder that had occupied the eyes staring up at him before were now filled with tears of confusion and terror. "What are you doing, Irvine?"_

_The guns slipped through his fingers to clatter on the rocky ground, and Irvine wrapped the woman in a hug that he had never performed to another woman since he was only six years old. His mother figure. "Matron…"_

_He did not see Rinoa pick herself up from the rubble, and stalk towards a figure dressed in an off-white coat lying amongst the debris…_

*          *            *

"…And that's the whole story." Irvine sagged a little onto the backrest of the chair, resting his chin on his arms. "I've never been able to draw or cast magic. Ever."

Quistis frowned. "But…but I've seen you! On numerous times! You've used Blizzard, Fire, Demi…"

Irvine waved his hand. "Haven't you been listening?! It's all the bullets! I buy them from weapon stores!!" He lowered his head to his arms again. "And they aren't cheap, I can tell you…"

"I always wondered why you fired your guns when you cast magic…" Quistis said, rubbing her chin, before frowning again. "So, why tell me? How am I supposed to help you with this Jeheyt kid?"

Irvine shrugged. "I dunno…aside from Rinoa, you're the best magic caster in all the Gardens…"

"What's that got to do with anything? You expect me to help you fight this guy?" she smirked. "You did pretty well against Edea. This kid ought to be npo problem for the likes of you…"

"That's the thing!" Irvine said, throwing his arms up in dispair. "He's got his Desk rigged so that if he dies, a message will be spread across the Board saying that I had a vendetta on him because he knew my secret…not that I want to kill him or anything. If I defy him, he'll expose me, and if I do what he wants me to do, Hyne knows what he might do!!!" He shook his head. "I might be a womaniser to you – but I do have a reputation as a SEED to uphold."

Quistis stood suddenly, her arms rigid by her sidesd in fury. "Will you stop thinking about yourself for one second and think about what might happen if this guy does get into the Instructor Files!? He might mess up our entire scoring system, he might plant a virus of some kind – he might even be a spy for Galbadia!! He might draw some really powerful magic – he might even be able to draw Eden!!"

At the mention of the most powerful GF in the world, Irvine looked up with horror. _That's right. Squall locked Eden down after the Sorceress Quest – the power was too much, even for him! "If he got Eden…" he muttered._

"Now you're thinking with your head instead of your…"

"You're right! I don't know what I was thinking!!" Irvine stood suddenly, knocking the chair over. "I was such an idiot! A reputation can be rebuilt! I'm a SEED,, for crying out loud!!!"

He bolted from the room, gathering his shotgun as he flashed through the door.

Moving through the Dorms, he finally arrived at his room. _I suppose this will be the best area to wait…maybe I can catch him off guard, in my own environment._

Palming the door open, he jumped in surprise.

Jeheyt was sitting at his Desk, typing furiously.

"What in Hyne are you doing?" Irvine suddenly yelled, making the student jump. "How'd you get into my room?! How'd you activate my Desk?!"

He was seething with anger, which was fed by Jeheyt's confident gaze as he turned to face Irvine. "Come on…" The boy said, rolling his eyes. "It was as easy as gathering the information needed to exploit you." He turned back to the Desk, and beckoned for Irvine to come forward. "Come on. Just do this, and you can walk out, free of any guilt whatsoever. You can forget about this whole thing – nothing will come of any harm."

The boy suddenly felt the double-barrels of a shotgun pressed against the back of his head. He smiled at the reflection of Irvine in the Desk's screen. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Something I should have done as soon as you began to talk to me." Irvine said, his voice dull and flat.

He could tell the seed of doubt had been woven into the boys mind, as a hesitant reply came forth. "You…you can't be serious."

"I'm serious, boy." He said, pulling the hammers for the shotgun back with a satifying 'click-click'. "Deadly serious."

The boy moved his finger over to a button on the Desk, and Irvine saw a smile of triumph in the reflection of the Desk's screen. "Put the gun down – all of them – or else everybody will know you're secret. All I have to do is push this button, and everybody – _everybody_, I'm talking all three Gardens – will know."

Irvine smiled as a memory came floating back.

_"I said, drop your weapons!!" She screamed._

"Make me." Irvine whispered.

Jeheyt paused for a second – then pressed the button. Instantly the emergency klaxon to his room came on, and the emergency screen newly installed after the Galbadian battle, showing emergency routes, emerged from his roof. However, emergency routes were not on the screen. Instead, Jeheyt's image was on screen.

"Hello, my fellow Garden students. I apologise if I have interrupted you're daily workings, but I fear that some information regarding one of the Sorceress Hero's has come to my attention."

Irvine felt his sanity gurgling out of his ears as he turned from the screen to Jeheyt, who was looking smug. "Shut it off!!" He screamed, pointing the weapon at Jeheyt once more.

"I can't. It'll keep broadcasting until someone can figure out how to shut it off – which wont be that hard. But by the time someone has gotten their act together, it'll be too late."

"This particular Hero has hailed from not one, but two Gardens. I'm not talking aobut Selphie Tilmett – I'm talking about the Sorceress slayer himself. The one and only Irvine Kinnes."

"Why!? Why would you do this to me!?"

Jeheyt shrugged. "It's not as if I hate you or anything. It's just that you served my purpose to the T. A person so wrapped up with themselves that they held a secret so terrible to themselves, they'd do almost anything to keep it to themselves."

"It seems, my dear Instructors and students, that Irvine Kinnes has been struck down by a most debilitating handicap. You see, Irvine is, in all manner of the words Magically Impotent. No magic can be cast from this man. He cannot junction. He cannot Draw. He cannot even cast the simplest of magic's, such as Fire, or Cure. He is so retarded, he has to use special ammunition in order to defeat his foes. This is the truth. You can ask him yourself."

Irvine suddenly grabbed Jeheyt from the chair, roughly pulling him down to the ground and shoving the shotgun to his temple. Jeheyt looked up at the cowboy in sheer terror as he saw the look in Irvine's eyes. "Before I blow your brains to hell and back," Irvine growled through gritted teeth, "You will tell me what you were searching for!"

Jeheyt remained tight lipped, sweat pouring down his face.

Irvine grabbed the boy by his shirt-front, pulled him from the ground…then slammed him down again, making the boy cry out in pain as his spine hit the floor with the pull force and brutal strength of a SEED. "Tell me!" Irvine screamed. "Before I splatter your brains!!"

"Eden…" Jeheyt yelled shrilly. "I'm on the Galbadian payroll! They wanted Eden!!"

Irvine moved close, getting right into the boy's face. "So, you are a stinking, filthy spy! You don't even deserve my mercy!!"

Pulling back to stand, he pointed the weapon at the spy. He didn't even need to watch for spray. He didn't care anymore.

His door opened and Squall ran in just as he pulled the trigger.


	4. Quistis's Day

Final Fantasy Chronicles – Quistis

On the tiny island of Balamb, just east of Galbadia and south of Trabia, there is an installation called Garden. Within this installation, children, from the ages of five to twenty, are trained in the use of paramagic – the ability to draw magical properties from monsters and use those properties in an elemental way.

This is also the place where Garden – a special, international mercenary agency, is run from. These children, the best of these children, are selected from the crowd and placed in the ranks of glory. SeeD, famous for their precision attacks, their skilful manovoues, their unabiding strength and determination.

One of the most famous of the SeeDs is also the most beautiful. The youngest ever to become a SeeD at 15, also the youngest to become an Instructor at 16, the woman's exquisite features and unique magics, known as Blues, gave her an almost goddess status within the SeeD community. However, when someone more powerful and more beautiful came along, this workaholic SeeD took it a little more harder then most people thought…

*          *            *

There is a woman. Her slim features were covered in a orange dress, her lengthy and smooth legs covered in long black boots. Golden blond hair was professionally bundled up into a bun, and cool blue eyes glinted behind a small pair of scholarly spectacles, which were perched on the bridge of a perfectly perfect nose.

_Her adversary, a large, oil-spewing monster, turned towards her. The white blob seemed to utter a bubbly snarl, before a flap of lumpy skin suddenly flicked up, black gunk oozing it's way through the air towards her._

_She skipped past the gunk lightly, the splattering oil smacking into the iron wall behind her. The area began to smoke almost immediately, and she turned to her two other comrades. "Watch out! The oil is mixed with some kind of acid!"_

_A boy dressed in black leather wielding a shining gunblade spared a glance at her. "Of course, Instructor." He said coolly, deflecting another spurt of oil with a blast of the gunblade, the gun shot echoing around the metallic chasm._

The women almost cringed as she watched the boy turn and help the third of their party up, from where she had rolled to dodge the oil. The girl was nothing short of gorgeous, and although the woman knew for a fact that she was the more beautiful, it didn't help the worried glances that the boy threw to the girl – but not to her. 

_Unfurling a large piece of rope that was wrapped around her waist, the woman flicked it out, the whip snapping in the air just above what might have passed as the monster's head. She repeated the attack, putting her fury into the snap of the whip as it now bit into the flabby hide of the beast, causing it to turn and roar at her._

_"That's right! I'm here!!" She screamed, the whip slashing through the air around her. "Come and get me!!"_

*          *            *

"I mean, what exactly is love? Is it an emotion, something we cannot harness or control, something that takes hold of us and drags us along until we stop through exhaustion? Or is it some kind of chemical reaction when we see something that we know we can't have, but want _so desperately_…"

Quistis turned her perfectly beautiful face towards the screen, a frown furrowing the perfect brow as the silence grew. "Well? Impart some wisdom! You are the qualified psychiatrist, after all."

The screen swivelled to face her, an elderly visage appearing in the computer's display. Apparently, this was supposed to sooth the patient, reminding them of an elder imparting wise advice. "The fact that you want something that you cannot have is irrelevant in this case, Miss Trepe. The fact that you think you cannot work under the conditions you have been providing yourself is why you are here, with me." 

The elderly face frowned slightly, creating more wrinkles in the already shrivelled features on the image enhanced face. "Might I ask, again, for the third time, why you decided to take on not only three Instructor classes – your Whips class, your magic class, and your Blue class – and neglect to appear at any of your end of semester conferences with the Commander?"

Quistis sat up on the lounge that she had been lying on, smashing a perfectly manicured fist into the soft red suede. "Because, you metallic numbskull, that would mean having to see…him!"

"You mean Commander Squall?" The computer confirmed for the third time in the session.

Quistis rolled her eyes in exasperation, flopping back onto the couch reluctantly. "Yes. Squall. My Commander." She sighed.

The screen moved a little closer from it's floating perch just a few meters from the couch, coming within a few feet of Quistis's head. "And why does that disappoint you?"

"I told you! Because…oh, why am I still here?! You're no help at all!!" She stood suddenly, shoving the floating screen out of the way and moving for the door.

The screen followed her slowly, the elderly man's voice still as calm as it had been a few minutes ago. "Wait, Quistis. Our time isn't up."

"It is for me!!" Quistis spat at the screen, slamming a fist on the door-closing knob, the door sliding shut viciously, cutting the screen off from it's patient.

Quistis stomped out of the booth, brushing past Dr. Kadowaki with no more then a grunted 'excuse me', before the doors opened for her in a hurry. Walking out of the infirmary, she was immediately assaulted by a dozen boys and girls.

"Instructor! You still haven't given me my finals for the Fire Cavern! I'll be needing them soon!!"

"Instructor, you said you'd be giving me more pointers on my Blue magic! I'm still blowing up my cell phone whenever I use it!"

"Will you go out with me!?" 

"Instructor, I need to ask you – when are you going to take us on that field trip to the Forgotten King's place?!"

"When will you be getting around to marking the mid-terms??"

"Can I have your cell phone number?!"

Quistis suddenly stamped her foot to the floor. Almost on que, the whole garden seemed to rock on it's foundations as a loud crash sounded, followed by an almighty explosion. Quistis, in her anger, didn't hear, but from the student's point of view, it seemed like their Instructor wasn't in a very good mood.

One student stepped back, allowing the glowering SeeD some space. "I t-think we'll ask you l-later…"

Quistis heard that, and swallowed her anger. "Thank you." She muttered quietly, walking past the flock of students and into the corridor.

Ever since Squall had become Commander of Balamb Garden, things had been a little hectic because of his fascinating job. Somehow he had managed to triple the work-speed of the entire Garden, making almost everyone and everything more productive and proficient. This meant that Instructors had more time to work with their students, students had more time to improve, and allowed the SeeDs to get more missions done.

Quistis, having seen Squall take everything in stride, tried to match his workload, almost as if to compete with him. Her now over-loaded schedule had her sleeping only six hours nights, with only one meal a day. But that wasn't the only reason why she buried herself within the load.

As she walked through the Garden's main corridor making her way to her Dorm, she spied a young couple sitting on a bench, watching one of the fountains flanking the elevator up to the Deck and the Headmaster's office. The woman, her hair a bouncy blond, giggled as the boy, a red-head with a goofy smile, pointed something out and laughed. The two of them shifted closer together, the boy draping his arm over the girls shoulder evenly and confidently. The girl snuggled closer, smiling up at the boy.

For some reason, this infuriated Quistis. Stomping up to the couple, she stood before them. "Beta! What are you doing?!"

The boy withdrew his arm from the girl and stood abruptly, his arms by his sides. "I don't understand the question, ma'am!" he said, a perfect soldier's answer.

It only caused to build the raging fire within Quistis's belly. "I mean what are you doing with her?!" she almost screamed, pointing an elegant finger at the blond, who was sitting with her hands in her lap, looking slightly embarrassed.

Beta's face twisted more into confusion. "Ma'am…this is my girlfriend, ma'am. We're spending time together…"

"Need I remind you, Beta, that you are at the lowest rank in your Blue class! I told you to practise!!"

"Ma'am! I've been practising all weekend, ma'am! This is the first time I've had a break in three days!"

Quistis walked right up to the now frightened boy, pushing her beautiful face into his. "How do you expect to improve your Blue magic if you waste your time with pretty little tramps! You'll get nowhere if you continue to slack off, mister!!"

Beta blinked at the harsh words, and Quistis stepped back as the severity of her words suddenly sank in. The blond, now in tears, bolted from the bench and ran in the direction of the Training Centre, tears streaming down her face as she wept openly. Beta gave Quistis a deathly look, before giving chase. "Electra! Wait!!"

Quistis blinked again, frozen to the spot. _What's wrong with you?_ A voice in her head muttered. _You can't have a relationship with the man you love, so no one else is allowed? I can't believe they made you Instructor again!!_

Quistis looked around her, the ten or so people in the corridor staring at her, the looks in their eyes evident – _Bitch, skank, whore_.

She shook her head, fighting back the tears as she walked onwards.

"Quistis." A voice called, the cold, calm tone only belonging to one man.

She froze then, unable to move as Squall walked out of the Dorms. She watched his even stride, calm and in control. He nodded a small greeting to a person as they walked past him, and he finally arrived before her. "I've been trying to find you for weeks. You seem to have been avoiding our conferences."

Quistis found herself fumbling for words. "Um…well…I've been very busy, you see…as have you, obviously…"

Squall's face seemed to brighten slightly as a rare smile flashed onto his face. "Not really. I've managed to finish off most of my work, at least for a couple of days." 

His rare smile grew even bigger as he saw the look on her face. "B-but how I that possible?! You have…Commander duties, Fire Cavern Exams, Gunblade classes, as well as the basic Magic classes…"

Squall shook his head, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "We're not here to talk about me, Quistis. We're here to talk about you."

Quistis looked down at the hand on her bare shoulder, the only thought that the warm grip would never leave – before the voice whispered in her mind again. _What, are you insane? Squall would never love you. He loves Rinoa, and has for the past three years. You have no chance. No chance in all of Gaia._

"Umm…sorry, Squall, but I have a lot of work to catch up on, and I'd better get onto it, you know, so…"

She quickly brushed past the tall man. His protests fell on deaf ears as she broke into a run, almost bowling over several students as she skidded around the corner and into the Dorms, palming her door open and slamming it shut, pressing her back to it, her breaths coming in short gasps.

See. What did I tell you? He didn't even give chase, didn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you…

She placed both hands on her head, the fingers digging into her skull painfully. "Shut up! Just shut up!!" She screamed through gritted teeth, trying to kill the chattering voice.

In the bathroom the mirror quivered slightly, before shattering.

*          *            *

_"That's right! I'm here!!" She screamed, the whip slashing through the air around her. "Come and get me!!"_

_"Quistis! No!!" Squall bellowed, but the flabby Oily jumped up out of the oil pool in which it had been wallowing in and slammed down, cutting the woman off from him._

_She cracked the whip again, the tip bursting into flame as she junctioned Fire to it, the weapon's power now fully boosted. The Oily seemed to roar at her again as she cracked the whip once more, scoring a white piece of skin, the fiery tip of the whip slicing straight through, reddish-black blood spurting out of the monster, signifying the score._

_The Oily the tried to ram her, the blob seeming to squirt oil underneath it and push off the ground and slide at her, squirting oil as it went._

_The woman threw up a Protect spell as the oil splattered around her, and she dove out of the way._

_Not in time, however, as the Oily suddenly turned in it's slide and caught her foot, causing her to spin into a wall, slamming into the rusty iron and slide to the floor, the wind knocked out of her._

_There was a loud crash as the monster suddenly ran out of space to slide with, crashing into the wall just to the woman's right, slamming into the wall with a loud squelch. The white blob seemed to simply slide up and over the wall, before sliding back, looking slightly dazed – if you could find its face._

_The woman managed to pull herself to her feet groggily, cracking the whip once more. The monster seemed not to register her, it's crash seeming to have knocked the wind out of it._

_She lifted her hands, closing her eyes as she concentrated. The ball of fire that grew between her hands sputtered and boiled within the oil-rich atmosphere, the Fira growing double it's size then it would have in the usual air._

_"Eat this!!" she screamed, drawing her hand back and throwing the ball of fire at the monster with all her force. Like a rocket launched from a rocket launcher, the medicine-ball sized Fira blasted a fiery trail towards the Oily – before exploding brilliantly against it, the fire-ball burrowing into the flabby white flesh before the oil within it's system ignited, the explosion blowing the woman off her feet ad into the wall again._

_Shaking her head, she looked up to see the still flaming remains of her now-dead opponent. "Now that's taken care of, lets see what we can do about going lower, Squall…"_

_Her voice trailed off as she saw him slash his gunblade through the belly of one of the beasts, Rinoa nowhere to be seen._

*          *            *

Pushing off from the door, she moved hesitantly towards the tiny bathroom, twisting the tap in the sink on and cupping her hands, drinking in long smooth draws. When she had sated her thirst, she looked up at her shattered image.

"You look like shit…" she muttered at her reflection, who mimicked her perfectly, albeit in a very shattered kind of way.

Pushing away from the basin, her footing now a little smoother, she walked back into the main room. Looking at the huge pile of papers and other works on her Desk, she sighed. "Better get into it."

She set to work. Marking reports, categorising them and finally filing them away, she had gotten through half when there was a knock on the door.

She ignored it. Whoever it was, she didn't want to see them, even if it was Headmaster Cid himself – 

"Instructor?"

Quistis narrowed her eyes. "Seifer?" She muttered to herself slowly. _What does he want?_

Getting up slowly, she moved to the door, opening it only slightly. Seifer stood outside, in all his cold glory. "I've been getting reports on you, Instructor."

Quistis opened the door fully, crossing her arms and looking at the Head Of Security over her spectacles. "This better be important, Seifer. I'm very busy, and can't be disturbed…"

He cut her off. "Maybe we ought to speak inside?" He asked, pointing with a finger into her room.

She rolled her blue eyes. Even through she was an Instructor, Seifer's rank as Head Of Security overrode anything she would order. "Fine." She spat, opening the door fully and waving him in.

He strode in purposefully, one hand on his Hyperion, the other on his hip. He looked around the messy room with a critical eye – bed not made, empty dishes stacked up in piles along the walls, clothes tossed about on the floor, papers strewn at random about the room – but said nothing.

Quistis began to feel a little self-conscious, and shut the door, flicking the 'Busy. Please return later.' sign onto her door plaque. She turned and rested agains the door, crossing her arms defiantly. "You're in. Now talk."

The taller man turned then, setting his cold eyes on her. "I've been getting reports that you've been acting…strangely lately."

Quistis cocked an eyebrow. "Strangely? Who would say a thing like that?"

"Squall. Dincht. And several students. How hard have you been pushing yourself, Instructor? How much work have you been trying to do."

"Enough. Now if you're not here for anything important, I suggest that you leave. I've got a lot of work to do…"

Seifer's hand suddenly slammed into the door inches from Quistis's head, his face sterner then usual, his icy blue eyes locking onto hers. "How do you get off telling other people when and when not they can have a relationship? How do you think you'll survive much longer with the work you've been doing? How long do you think you'll last?"

"Why the hell would you care?" Quistis spat, her face curling into a snarl. "That's all I've got, my work. And that's all I need. If other people want to waste their times with false relationships and fake love, then let them!"

"I've seen the computers files, Quistis. You've been going to the phyce-doc on and off for years now. Can't you let him go?"

Her hand seemed to take a life of it's own, reaching up and slapping across his face with an earth shattering slap. The sound of one hand clapping seemed to echo forever in Quistis's mind as the initial shock of Seifer's blatant invasion of her privacy was overcome by her own shocking action. Seifer's right cheek began to glow a bright red from the blow, but he didn't seem to register it. He simply looked into her eyes, a foreign sadness suddenly within the cold gaze.

"You have everything, Quistis. Good friends. A great job. There's no point in burning out. You're stronger then that." His mouth twisted into what might pass as a smile. "I know it."

The two adults continued to stare at each other, their eyes locked seemingly for an eternal gaze – before Quistis suddenly pushed her face into his, their lips meeting, their tongues pressing against each other as she roughly wrapped her arms around him and pulled his body closer.

Their bodies grinded together, her mind in a whirl. She pulled herself back from the passionate embrace suddenly, running her fingers through her hair whilst the other hand trace it's way across his mouth. "Oh Hyne…I've never done something like this…maybe I am going mad…" She looked up at him.

The look he was giving her was something that she had never seen on Seifer's face before. It was that of _humanity._ "Just…go with the flow." Seifer said quietly, taking her hand into his. "That's what Dincht would say."

All sense left as she found herself suddenly pushing him towards the messy bed, her body not wanting to leave his for a second more. She suddenly released him, watching as he fell to the bed, his face now suddenly full of shock. "Quistis…what the…"

She ripped her bun off her head, shaking her long golden hair loose. "Shut up." She growled, suddenly pouncing on him. "I need this."

She attacked his face once more, her hands moving to pull up his shirt, feeling his rock hard chest. His hands moved up her chest, the three buttons which held the thin orange cotton together seeming to be cut by his fingers, the blouse springing open almost immediately. She didn't pull her face from his, her tongue mapping his tooth structure, as she began to tug at his belt, the thick leather flapping out of the belt buckle and slashing out of the belt holes as she threw it away from him, her fingers now moving to his zipper – 

There was a knock on the door.

"Oh fuck!" She blurted suddenly, the both of them freezing like statues. All her senses suddenly rushed back, and she looked down to see Seifer's face – which was equally worried.

_Well, at least you're not alone._ She thought to herself as she traced her eyes down his body. She had managed to do some damage, the shirt almost ripped off his body, her hand down his underpants and gripping – 

There was a second knock, followed by some words. "Quistis? Are you in there?" The unmistakeable voice of Irvine asked.

The equally worried look on Seifer's face suddenly turned to pure rage. "Dammit, Kinnes, I'm gonna fucking gut him and…"

Quistis slammed both hands onto his face and performed the most quiet 'shhhhh' that she possibly could. "Just shut up…" she whispered into his ear. "And maybe he'll leave."

"Quistis, I can hear you moving in there. Open up! I got to talk to you."

It was Quistis's turn to curse now, and she did so quietly. "Fuck…quick, hide in the bathroom." She muttered to the Head Of Security, yanking his hand out of her panties and pulling herself off the bed, doing up her blouse as Seifer bolted for the bathroom.

Making sure the bathroom door was adequately closed, she quickly rolled her hair up into a bun and composed herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Irvine had always tried to sneak his way into her life – but he wasn't going to do it now. Along with being a womaniser and a scoundrel, she also put 'bad timing' on the list of things that she hated about him. "What do you want?" she asked harshly, the words spilling out.

Amazingly, he looked very cowed, one hand resting the shotgun on his shoulder whilst the other was shoved deep in his pocket. He looked down at he spoke, his fedora hat blocking his handsome features from her view. "I…I need…to talk to you about something…"

_You've got to be kidding!!_ "I'm busy." She said with a smirk. _Trying to pull a fast one on me? Think again, buster._ "Come back later." _Or how about never?_

She began to close the door – but he suddenly jammed his boot in between the doorframe and the door, making it impossible to close the door without making Irvine foot-jam in the process. He removed his hand form his pocket and place dit on the doorframe, looking up at her now. His eyes were full of desperation. "Please! He pleaded pitifully. "I need to talk to you!!"

Quistis suddenly couldn't take any more. "Oh, come on!" she spat. "You've tried every other way to get me into bed, but pulling a desperate plea is a little too much, don't you think? Isn't that a little too undignifying, even to you?!"

She opened the door a little – before slamming it shut on his foot, the leather managing to keep it from breaking. She felt a small amount of satisfaction in the grimace of pain he gave – but saw the look in his eyes when he looked back up. They were now full of _sheer_ desperation. "Please…" he whispered.

"You…you really just want to talk…?"

"Yes…" Irvine said, letting out a huge sigh. "I just want to talk."

_Forgive me Seifer…_ Quistis tried to telepathically send the message to the Head Of Security, who would most probably be cowering in the shower recess in the bathroom by now. Opening the door fully, she waved the gunslinger in, who walked in gratefully.

Shutting the door, she turned – _to see Seifer's Hyperion lying beside a stack of dishes!_

She gulped slowly, watching Irvine look about the room slowly, before walking over to the Desk and grabbing the chair. Spinning it around, he sat down, resting his chest against the backrest.

From his position, the Hyperion was unable to be seen, and she mentally sighed. "Okay…" She muttered in her best 'angry' voice. "I've just put off…marking some very important papers, all just so I can talk to you." She looked at him with muted anger. "So you'd better make this good."

Irvine nodded sadly. "Oh, it's going to be good. I'm sure you're going to get a real kick out of what I've got to tell you…"

*          *            *

_Her voice trailed off as she saw him slash his gunblade through the belly of one of the beasts, Rinoa nowhere to be seen._

She quickly threw a Protect around him as the oily acidic guts of the beast spilled over from where the monster had jumped form the oil to him, the greasy acidic contents splattering all over the Protect – but not over Squall.

_Two lightening slashes later, and the Oily's body was cut to ribbons._

_The woman allowed the Protect to drop – before watching as Squall threw the gunblade down and dove into the oil, the slick blackness enveloping him as he disappeared beneath the dark liquid._

_"Squall!!" She screamed, dropping her whip and running to where he had dove in._

_His gunblade was buried up to the hilt from where he had thrown it. It was the only sign that he had ever been there._

_"Squall!! Where are you?!" The woman screamed in vain, ignorant of another monster as it launched itself from the oil pool to the catwalk, landing behind her with a loud splat._

_There was no way he could have survived the swim. His body was lost amongst the oil, to be taken by the monsters as much as possible. She was all alone once more._

_Something burned within her, a deep rage that seemed to make her whole body tremble. Turning slowly, she watched the large monster slurp it's way forward, ready to kill it's opponent and return to the inky blackness…the blackness which was now Squall, the one she loved, grave._

_Her scream was that of shrill rage as she ripped her spectacles off her eyes as they burned a bright blue – before twin lasers erupted from them, the bright blue light slashing straight through the monster's glutenous body, cutting the giant beast in twain._

_It seemed to set of a furious flury of monsters, all suddenly jumping up and out of the oil at her. She blasted them all evenly, her rage unmeasurable as halved, quartered, _diced_ bodies continued to fall at her feet, her eyes blazing blue light._

_Finally there were no more contenders, and the woman blinked, the blue light in her eyes finally dissipating. As always when she used her Blue magic, she felt drained of all power, like someone had sucked the energy out of her. Falling to her knees, she wept openly at the lost of her beloved Squall._

_Suddenly, a black, oil covered hand hammered into the catwalk._

_The woman looked up, her wide eyes growing wider as Squall pulled himself heroically onto the catwalk, before turning and grasping something, pulling it up with him._

_Rinoa. She must've fallen into the pool when the Oily had emitted the shockwave._

_"Rinoa! Rinoa, can you hear me?!" Squall cried, rolling her onto her back. He spread her arms and began to perform CPR, pumping her chest before pinching her nose and breathing air into her lungs._

_The woman simply sat there, watching as Squall continued to fight to save her. Covered in oil and black as death, his eyes were the only clear parts on his body – and they were trained solely on Rinoa, the worry growing with each breath forced into her body._

_The woman sighed once more, before raising her hands and pointing them at the couple._

_A slight breeze began to whip at the oil pool, droplets of black gunk flying up and around as a stiff wind began to build. Squall looked around to see the woman walking forward, her eyes glowing a bright blue, ad the White Wind did its work._

_Rinoa suddenly coughed, forcing black liquid from her lungs, and Squall looked back down at the girl as she gripped his shirt tight with her hand, looking up at him as she was brought back form the brink of death._

_Once he was sure that she would be all right, Squall stood. Walking over to the woman, he patted her on the shoulder. "Good job, Quistis. Now we have to get to the control room." Walking past her, he opened a small hatch at the end of the catwalk. "Down here!!" He shouted. "Let's go!"_

_"Coming!" Replied the newly revived Rinoa, running to meet the oil-covered boy – before stopping before the woman. The girl bowed low, before grasping the woman's hands tightly. "Thank you, Quistis. You saved my life."_

_The woman could do nothing but shrug and smile, watching as the girl ran to Squall and followed him down._

*          *            *

Quistis looked at Irvine in a new light. The story he had just told her – which had been more or less, his whole life story, compressed into an hour – had been almost mind boggling.

"…And that's the whole story." He finished, sagging against the backrest of the chair slightly. "I've never been able to cast or draw magic. Ever."

Quistis couldn't help but frown in confusion. "But…I've seen you! On numerous times! You've used Blizzard, Fire, Demi…"

Irvine interrupted with a wave of his arm. "Haven't you been listening?! It's all the bullets! I buy them from weapons stores!!" He lowered his head to his hands sadly. "And they aren't cheap, I can tell you…"

It explained a lot. Why Irvine always used Items instead of magic's to heal them during the Sorceress mission… "I always wondered why you fired your guns when you cast magic…" she said out loud, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She frowned once more. "So, why tell me? How am I supposed to help you with this Jeheyt kid?"

She watched his expression turn from one of sadness to slight confusion. "I dunno…aside from Rinoa, you're the best magic user in all the Gardens…"

Even the mention of Rinoa made Quistis's blood boil. "What's that got to do with anything?" she spat. "You expect me to help you fight this guy? You did pretty well against Edea. This kid ought to be no problem for the likes of you…"

"That's the thing!" Irvine said, throwing his arms up in despair. "He's got his Desk rigged so that if he dies, a message will be spread across the Board saying that I had a vendetta on him because he knew my secret…not that I want to kill him or anything. If I defy him, he'll expose me, and if I do what he wants me to do, Hyne knows what he might do!!!" He shook his head. "I might be a womaniser to you – but I do have a reputation as a SEED to uphold."

Quistis couldn't help watching him wallow in self-pity for much longer. She stood up feeling infuriated, her arms rigid and trembling by her sides. "Will you stop thinking about yourself for one second and think about what might happen if this guy does get into the Instructor files? He might mess up our entire scoring system, he might plant a virus of some kind – he might even be a spy for Galbadia!! He might draw some really powerful magic – he might even draw Eden!!"

The mention of Eden got a rise out of Irvine, who looked up instantly at the mention of the Guardian Force's name. "If he got Eden…" He muttered to himself in shock.

Quistis smiled and crossed her arms. "Now you're thinking with your head instead of your…"

Irvine cut her of suddenly, jumping to his feet and grasping his shotgun, the chair tumbling over beneath him. "You're right! I don't know what I was thinking! I was such an idiot! A reputation can be rebuilt! I'm a SeeD for crying out loud!!"

He suddenly pushed past Quistis, bursting out of the room and bolting down the corridor at high speed.

Quistis closed the door and placed he back against it, sighing an almighty sigh. _Silly boy… she thought to herself…before someone coughed surreptitiously._

"Oh my Hyne! Seifer!!" Quistis gasped, placing a hand to her mouth as she opened the bathroom door. "You heard…"

"Everything." Seifer finished coldly, walking briskly out of the tiny room. "I got to hand it to Kinnes, he sure knows how to fool people."

Quistis stood before him, grasping her left elbow with her right hand, feeling very, very awkward. "Umm…listen…about before…"

Seifer walked across the room and picked up his Hyperion, strapping it around his waist once more. "We'll talk about it later." He muttered, tightening the belt around his waist with a jerk. "If what Irvine said is true, we have a spy in the Garden. I need to go tell Squall right now."

She opened the door for him silently, allowing him the space to walk out. He brushed past her, the cold, analytical, all business Seifer back in place for all to see.

She was about to close the door before a hand was placed on the doorframe.

Seifer poked his head in around the door. "I'll see you later…Instructor." He said, a small grin on his lips, before he winked and was gone.

Quistis closed the door and placed her back against it for the fourth time that day, sighing a sigh that she hadn't sighed since she had seen Squall walk in through the front door of the Garden, all those years ago…

She looked about the room. What had she been doing to herself? Suddenly, something from the morning popped in her mind, and she turned and bolted from the room, desperately searching for someone…

*          *            *

She arrived at the Library breathless, her hair a mess. She had just raced all over the Garden in search for him, and he had been nowhere to be found…

She suddenly spied the Library Girl, and walked up to her. "Um…" Quistis began, suddenly realising that she didn't know her name.

The girl turned. "Oh! Instructor Trepe! I didn't see you there." The smile on the girls face was genuine. "Would you like me to help you with something?"

"Ah, no…well, yes." Quistis admitted. "I'm looking for a boy in one of my classes…called Beta. About 6'1", red hair, has a goofy smile?"

"Yes! I know Beta! He's in the study area. He said he needed to hit the books before you got on his ass…" The girl's voice suddenly trailed off, but Quistis waved her off.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I was just having a rough day, that's all."

"Oh. Ok." The girl said, before turning and pointing down the centre of the stacks. "Well, he ought to be that way."

"Thank you…uh, I don't know your name."

"It's Angel, ma'am. Angel Lee."

Quistis nodded a goodbye to Angel before walking purposefully down the centre of the stacks, reaching the study area in no time. Looking about, she finally spotted Beta's red hair, bent over a book that he was noting furiously.

Quistis walked right up behind him, before speaking in her sternest voice yet. "Beta!!"

Beta instantly jumped to his feet. "Yes ma'am!" He said automatically.

"Stop that at once and take the rest of the day off! You have a girlfriend who needs your love and compassion!"

Beta blinked, before smiling his goofy smile. "Yes, ma'am!!"

She watched the student quickly collect his book and scuttle off before sighing, crossing her arms, and deciding to try and find where Squall was. She had a lot of meetings to catch up to.


	5. Squall's Day

Ch 5 – Squall

On the tiny island of Balamb, just east of Galbadia and south of Trabia, there is an installation called Garden. Within this installation, children, from the ages of five to twenty, are trained in the use of paramagic – the ability to draw magical properties from monsters and use those properties in an elemental way.

This is also the place where Garden – a special, international mercenary agency, is run from. These children, the best of these children, are selected from the crowd and placed in the ranks of glory. SeeD, famous for their precision attacks, their skilful manoeuvres, their unabiding strength and determination.

One of the most famous of the SeeDs is also the most enigmatic. Known for his deadly gunblade abilities and his lone-wolf attitude, he has amazingly risen through the ranks of SeeD to become on eof the highest ranking officials in Garden. However, all his SeeD responsibilities mean nothing when it comes to his other, more higher responsibility…for this boy is also know as the Sorceresses Knight…

*          *            *

There is a boy. His handsome face is set like rock, always passive, always distant. Garbed in black leather pants and coat, he shook his wavy brown hair from his eyes, the sweat from his forehead causing it to stick. The long scar across the bridge of his nose, running horizontally between the cold grey eyes, had reopened, seeping the red liquid that coursed through his veins.

_The gunblade in his hands shimmered with a bluish haze, the energy blade spattering and sparking as the foe before it raised long, mishapened arms, drawing all Time within itself._

_The true form of Ultimaeica, the Sorceress from the future, stood before the boy. The sheer horror of her body was underlined by the act that she was causing what the boy had been fighting against for the past year – Time Compression. Time itself was being sucked into her, the dimension in which they had fought in for the past two hours beginning to collapse around them._

_The boy looked to his left tiredly, spying his fallen friend, a shock of blond hair and a gloved hand the only remanets from the Meteor attack that had buried him. A small girl, dressed in a yellow dress, threw her Strange Vision nunchaku aside and ran to the pile of rocks, showing amazing strength and stamina as she began to grab and toss the rocks away._

_A gunshot rang out, echoing into infinity, and the Sorceress's head snapped back, a great gout of Fire suddenly appearing from where the bullet had struck what passed as her face. The boy turned and watched as the cowboy quickly kneeled, trying desperately to reload his shotgun as a large volume of water suddenly appeared above him._

_The boy quickly threw his hand out, the red bubble of the Shell forming around Irvine as the Water spell suddenly dropped, spraying all around them with great amounts of H20._

_The cowboy looked up, his shotgun reloaded – to be smashed aside by a giant fist, the attack seeming to come out of nowhere, his body reeling away to skittle off in the distance, unconscious and out of the fight._

_The boy turned his grey eyes to the other unconscious person – a beautiful girl with golden blond hair, her whip lying harmlessly out of her reach. She lay in a pool of her own blood, a great slash opening her stomach. Her hands were wrapped around the wound, the cries of agony cutting deep into the boy's soul – but he could not help her. Another girl, this one equally beautiful but with raven-dark hair, tossed aside her Shooting Star Blaster Edge to place her hands over the wound, her face full of concern as they began to glow a bright white…_

_Turning back to the Sorceress, he shook his head clear of any doubts, any regrets. "Ultimecia!" He screamed, slashing the shimmering gunblade left and right, loosening the muscles in his wrist. "Today your life ends!!"_

*          *            *

Squall opened his eyes slowly, blinking as he looked up at the ceiling, the sheets of his bed comfortably wrapped around him.

Don't panic. You're not in the Time Compression anymore. You're back at Garden.

Shaking his head, he moved to get up – to feel a loose arm across his chest stop him. He looked down at the one thing that had helped him through the hell, the one thing that had kept him sane throughout the years.

"You were having another bad dream." Rinoa whispered dreamily, her raven-black hair strewn haphazardly around her head. He reached up with his free hand and brushed a lick of hair from her face, his face set within its impassiveness, before moving to get up. She didn't relinquish the hold on him, however. "Squall, talk to me." She asked, looking up at him.

He rolled his eyes and lay back on the mattress, sighing as he looked up at the ceiling once more. "I don't see why I need to. You know what it is. All you do is worry."

Rinoa rolled on top of him, straddling him as she traced a finger down his bare chest, following the trail of a scar that twisted down his torso. "I can't help but worry…it's been almost three years…and you still can't open up to people."

Squall placed a hand on hers, closing his fist around her fingers. "It's the way I am. I've lived my life shunning the people around me. I still have to work on it."

The girl nodded. "I know…but I wish you'd make it a little easier on people…and on me."

Squall snorted. "If anything I'm _too_ easy on you. You see the other side of me, the side I don't usually show other people. What more do you want?"

"I want you to show that side to other people too!! You're a good person, Squall. You just need to show people that."

Squall shook his head, sighing again. "Move, please. I need to get to work."

She rolled off him and allowed him space to get up off the bed. She had moved into his room ages ago, almost three years ago, and it hadn't been long before people began to refer to it as 'Squall and Rinoa's place'. It was more then spacious enough for the SeeD and his Sorceress – Squall had always led a Spartan lifestyle, managing to keep everything simple and in order. Having Rinoa staying didn't dent his usual living arrangement – it just meant he needed to make a little more space for his everyday life.

She watched him as he dressed, opening the small wardrobe built into the wall and removing his black leather pants and big black coat with the furry white collar. He dressed quickly and methodically – the pants pulled on and zipped almost in one shot, the coat being thrown over the white shirt he had pulled from a little pigeon hole within the wardrobe. You could almost time him in every aspect – it took him exactly five seconds to put on and re-adjust his Gunblade webbing, and it took him ten seconds to lace and tie each boot.

Rinoa giggled as he stood, clipping his Lionheart to one side whilst pulling his Shear Trigger from it's carry-case and sheathing it within it's holster. "What?" he asked with a shrug.

"Nothing."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes, before stepping over to the bed. "I'll be working up till lunchtime. I'll meet you in the cafeteria?"

"Okay."

He quickly kissed her on the cheek before turning to go.

"Oh, Squall?" she asked hurriedly.

He turned back to his Sorceress, a knowing smile on his face. "I know. 'Try to be more…happy?'" He mimicked.

She gave him a thumb up. "Right!"

He shook his head as he walked out of the room.

*          *            *

Squall was quietly going through some reports when there was a knock on his door. He looked up from the paperwork. "Come in." He called.

A large man with military-style cut hair walked n, his flowing white coat billowing around him as he shut the door behind him. Squall tensed slightly out of habit. Even though Seifer had gone through stringent psyche evaluations to get back into Garden, Squall still felt the embers of their old arguments flare within him whenever he saw the blond gunblade specialist.

Squall had, however, noted Seifer's remarkable increase in experience with his prodigal return, especially noting his devotion and patriotism when it came to the Gardens. He had, after all, followed through with an order that had destroyed Trabia. The sheer fact that he still felt guilt for his actions, even after returning to Garden two years ago after a one-year sabbatical, had been reason enough to allow him to return, and to place him as the head of the Garden Security Division within Balamb.

"Commander…" Seifer said, walking up to the desk and stand at attention.

Squall hated being reminded that he was in charge of everything. It made him feel…responsible. "Please, Seifer…don't call me that. Sit."

Seifer smirked as he took a chair, placing his feet on the desk and crossing them. "Not much has been happening security wise as of late, _Commander_…I've been getting a few complaints from the students of Instructor Quistis that she's been trying to kill them with their training. Also, she's been visiting the compu-psyche a lot as of late…"

Squall rolled his eyes. "Quistis is more then capable of taking care of herself."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "…Maybe it was a bad idea to reinstate her Instructor title." It was like Seifer hadn't heard him. Squall shook his head, watching as Seifer took his feet off his desk and leaned forward, his tone hushed, as if the walls had ears. "Squall, she's been running herself into the ground. Sooner or later she's going to hurt herself or someone else, most likely a student."

Squall raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair in surprise. "Seifer…are you worried about her?"

"I'm worried about the damage that might result from this if it's left unchecked." Seifer said instantly, his tone turning cold. "It would be wise to look into it."

Squall shook his head, half in disbelief, half in annoyance. Quistis had been on the Instructor scene before, and as far as her records went, she had never been any better within the Garden then when she was teaching her students. He highly doubted anything bad might result from it…but he shrugged anyways. "I'll talk to her."

Seifer nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"Anything else of importance?"

"There is the matter of the Dincht Incident."

Squall frowned, looking up at Seifer. "It would be nice if you used his first name every now and then."

Seifer simply smirked again, placing his hands behind his head. Zell had been training the day before and had gotten into a scrape, the end result being the complete annihilation of two sides of the Training Centre as well as numerous properties around the world. Squall had been contacted by Trabia, Esthar and Galbadian officials, as well as having been sent irrefutable proof that it had been Zell.

Photographs from the Esthar Space Station showed a great blue light screaming around the world as speeds unimaginable. One of the pictures, enhanced several times, showed a blurry image of a man with blond hair and a tattoo on the left side of his face.

Unmistakeably Zell. And besides, Zell had admitted to using My Final Heaven when he had been carried to the infirmary, smoking from the wattage of power used to launch the massive Limit Break, his leg broken and an arm dislocated as a result.

"What's Esthar been saying?" Seifer asked.

"They've been…persistent."

"I wonder why?" Seifer asked sarcastically.

Squall shook his head again, before standing. "I believe that he destroyed many properties. I told them what he told us. They want to know what we're going to do to him as a punishment."

Seifer's smirk turned into a toothy grin. "Just gimme five minutes alone with him."

Squall frowned. "No. You're not to touch him. I'll explain his excuse to the Garden Committee. Hopefully they'll be lenient."

Seifer raised his eyebrows and sighed. "That's the problem with you, _Commander_…you're becoming too soft."

Squall smiled. "Well…some people think I should stay this way…" He walked around the desk, moving to the door. "But now I've got to inspect the damage."

*          *            *

_Turning back to the Sorceress, he shook his head clear of any doubts, any regrets. "Ultimecia!" He screamed, slashing the shimmering gunblade left and right, loosening the muscles in his wrist. "Today your life ends!!"_

_They had gotten so far…infiltrating the Castle of Chain…dispatching the creatures within, regaining their locked powers one by one…finally finding the Sorceress…the long and prolonged battle as she changed form again, and again, and again…_

_Until when they had finally dealt the finishing blow, all of them collapsing with fatigue, their bodies pushed to their limits…she rose once more. More powerful then ever. The Time Compression coming to a close, even as they fought. Time dissolving for them._

_The boy skidding forward suddenly, pushing the memories from his mind as he began to swing the shimmering blue blade up, slashing through the dissipating atmosphere to cleave straight into the Sorceresses flesh, cutting a gigantic slab from her misshapen belly._

_The warped face leaned back, bellowing a cry of pain unheard of. It's distorted hand lifted and lowered, smashing the gunblade specialist aside, swatted as if he was a fly. The boy went careening to the left, tumbling and rolling with the blow – to come to his feet, launching from the balls of his feet, dragging the blade along behind him as if it was the heaviest thing he had ever carried._

_Jumping high, his voice bellowing out as he swung the blade up high, he slashed it down, the blade's edge cutting the air in twain as the attack neared the pulsing light within the head – before it was caught by Ultimecia's hand!!_

_They were locked in a battle of wills then, his blade seeming to be caught within an invisible force field, quivering in mid air as Ultimecia struggled with continuing the Time Compression and defending herself._

_He felt a psychic pulse smash into his body as his fingers tightened around the gunblade's shaft, his teeth gritting as he called upon all the power within himself. Electricity began to lance up and down his body as his voice began to growl, his blade trembling slightly. A bright blue light radiated from his body as he suddenly threw his head back and screamed, his strength, stamina and agility peaking with a brilliant boom._

_"RENZOKUKEN!!" He suddenly bellowed, the blade punching through the invisible barrier…to slash the hand in two!_

_Landing on the ground, the two halves of the giant hand landing either side of him, great purple gushes of Sorceress blood flowing over him, he suddenly bolted up off the grounds, his blade hacking and slashing, the blue light making the air around the Sorceress's body a haze. The blade rang out again and again as it tried desperately to pierce the tough hide of the Sorceresses body armour._

_Shockingly there was a resounding shockwave, and the boy was thrown clear as a shimmered barrier suddenly surrounded the giant monster's body, the bluish-green orb pulsing with Protective magic._

_This didn't daunt the boy however, as he skittled off to the side to roll to his feet once more, the blue light still emanating from him, the electricity lancing off his body, lacing over his arms and legs. He shifted his sight to the right, spying the girl with raven-black hair._

_"Rinoa!" He growled through gritted teeth, the need to speak and hold still almost unbearable. "I need you to cast Dispel! You're the only one that even comes close to meeting her power level magically!"_

_The girl turned to him, her hands covered in the blond girl's blood. "I can't use my Sorceress powers yet, Squall! I'm too weak!"_

_His eyes were full of fire as he suddenly turned towards her. "Do it! Unless you want the world to be destroyed!!"_

_She started at his sudden viciousness, but before she could reply he was off, his black boots carving into the ground as he set off for the Sorceress once more, his eyes full of fire as his energy began to peak once more._

*          *            *

"Amazing…" Squall muttered to himself.

"It is sir…he had no idea he had this kind of power."

"Well…he's always been energetic, Xu…and please don't call me that."

"Sorry…Squall."

The two sides of the Garden were completely demolished, a large crater just a few meters from the northern-most opening. Large amounts of blood and meat were still strewn about the area, and several students walked about the centre with bags and poles with hooks on the ends, cleaning as they went.

Seifer shook his head, chuckling softly.

Squall turned to his head of security. "What's so funny, Seifer?"

"Oh nothing. I just never expected the Chicken-Wuss to get so good, that's all."

"I suppose that's you're way to compliment someone?" Xu asked, hands on hips, frowning up at the larger man. "He was in trouble, you know. I'm pretty sure Squall would have needed medical attention after having to perform a manoeuvre like that."

Squall said nothing.

"Whatever." Seifer grunted, shaking his head. "I'm going to go see where he is. He ought to still be in the infirmary, but knowing him he could be anywhere by now."

Squall watched as the larger man stalked out of the Training Centre door, glaring at a Grat as he passed it. The monster scuttled off into the bushes as soon as the man's eyes passed onto it, and Squall smirked. _I suppose we'll have to finish what we started, all those years ago…_

"So, what are you going to do with Zell, Squall?" Xu asked, breaking Squall's train of thought.

He looked down at the Instructor and shrugged. "It's not for me to decide. The Council will deliver a punishment that will be suitable."

A loud crash echoed around the Garden, followed by a massive explosion. "What the hell was that?" Xu asked, her body ready for anything.

"It wasn't Zell, that's for sure." Squall muttered, looking around, narrowing his eyes. _What the hell was that?_ "I think I'll go and find out where he is, just to make sure. Xu, you're in charge here. Make sure that the area is cordoned off and that we get to FH in time for repairs. Also, the Training Centre is out-of-bounds until we repair the holes. Don't want anybody falling out while we're in mid-flight."

"Yes, sir!" Xu said sharply, saluting him, before walking towards one of the SeeDs in charge.

*          *            *

_Where the hell could he be?_ Squall asked himself as he walked out of the dorms. A messy as Zell's room was, Squall couldn't find any sign of him returning to it.

He could have been in the infirmary, like Seifer said…although, knowing Zell, he's probably up and about already…and hungry. Which leaves the only possible place he could be…

Squall began to make a beeline to the cafeteria.

He quickly side-stepped a blond girl, sobbing uncontrollably, as she brushed past him, running towards the Training Centre with tears streaming down her face. A boy with red hair ran after her, calling her name and asking her to wait for him. He faintly recognised the boy as a struggler within Quistis's Blue class, and noted to himself to talk to her about it once he met up with her…

_Speak of the devil…_Squall mused to himself as he saw Quistis standing, arms crossed over her chest, staring into space just before the bench between the Dorms and the elevator. She began to walk forwards, coming towards him, her head bowed.

"Quistis." He called. She continued to walk slowly

Strange. She must've heard him. "Quistis." He said more clearly.

She looked up suddenly, her beautiful face shocked at the mention of her name. He frowned. _She looks tired…maybe Seifer has a point?_ He walked forward, nodding to a student from within his gunblade class as he passed, and walked up to the whips specialist. "I've been trying to find you for weeks. You seem to be avoiding our conferences."

He watched her as she blustered uncharacteristically. "Um…well…I've been very busy, you see…as have you, obviously…"

He smiled down at her, hoping to ease her obvious nervousness. "Not really. I've managed to finish off most of my work, at least for a couple of days." It was a bit of a miracle, actually. All his paperwork seemed to solve itself, even with Zell's incident.

He couldn't help but smile a little more as she looked up at him with shock. "B-but how I that possible?! You have…Commander duties, Fire Cavern Exams, Gunblade classes, as well as the basic Magic classes…"

He frowned slowly, watching as she talked. She seemed to lose all her…glow? Energy? When she spoke his duties, all completed and filed safely away. _Seifer is right…you need rest._ He placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping the contact would help her to wake up. "We're not here to talk about me, Quistis. We're here to talk about you."

She looked down at his hand on her shoulder with a start, and pulled herself away from it suddenly. "Umm…sorry, Squall, but I have a lot of work to catch up on, and I'd better get onto it, you know, so…"

Awkwardly she brushed past him, her quick stride suddenly breaking into a run as she bolted for the Dorms, as if she wanted to escape from him. He tried shouting her name, but she didn't stop, either not hearing him like before, or not wanting to hear him.

He ran after her, before stopping just before the entrance to the Dorms. _What's the point?_ He mused. _She's got her own problems. Let her deal with them._

He turned to walk to the cafeterias, before stopping mid-stride. _But isn't this what Rinoa's been talking about? How open can you be by helping a friend through a time of need?_

He shook his head, walking forward once more. _No. I think I'd only scare her more. I'll send Seifer. He'll get her to talk…albeit not by her own free will._

Walking up to the entrance of the cafeteria, he saw that it was packed. _Lunchtime rush. Damn…well, at least it'll be easier to find Zell in this crowd. How many people will be getting around on crutches?_

He suddenly spied Seifer walking up from the entrance, and walked over to meet him. "Seifer, can you do me a favour?"

Seifer paused. "What, getting buddy-buddy now?"

Squall rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

The blond gunblader smirked. "Alright. What do you need?"

"Can you check on Quistis for me? I talked to her a minute ago, and she seemed pretty…"

"I'm on it."

Squall blinked, surprised. "That was fast. I thought I'd have to bend you backwards to do it."

Seifer shrugged, his eyes darting left. "I…just want to make sure that nothing bad happens…nip it in the bud, y'know?"

"Yeah…" Squall said suspiciously as Seifer brushed past him, diving into the crowd and moving towards the drink dispensers. _Interesting…_

Making his way through the crowd, Squall had to literally jump to see where the fighter was seated. He saw that he was munching away on a hotdog, his body wrapped in bandages as he spoke to Irvine.

Squall narrowed his eyes. Irvine had his shotgun with him. It was fine with his Vincents – nobody could see them, and the safeties were _always_ on – but the shotgun could really do some damage if it accidentally discharged.

He walked up to the gunner, watching as he stood from his seat and scooping the large rifle up, twirling it on his finger and resting it on his shoulder dangerously. He seemed to be speaking about his next girlfriend. "…walk in there, acting all serene and things, and say 'Hey baby, put away the books and have some fun for a change'." He did a little spin. "Then I'll whisk her away for a day of fun and a night of foolin' around!"

Squall placed his hand on the gunner's shoulder. "Irvine, I've told you…"

The shotgun suddenly discharged, both barrels blasting a hole in the roof, the flares from the barrels making Squall's hair jump as the buckshot whistled past his ear.

The sound was unbearable, but Squall had to retain a look of leadership before everybody, who had ducked, screaming. At least, he thought they were screaming. _Holy shit, I'm freaking deaf!!_ His mind screamed at him as he calmly removed the gun from Irvine's trembling hand and pressed the unload stud, the breech opening and ejecting the spent shells. "That…" Squall said quietly, catching the smoking shells in his hand. "…Is why we don't allow weapons in the cafeteria."

_I'm deaf! I can barely hear what's going on!!_ His mind screamed, but he simply placed the empty weapons and shells in Irvine's hands who, it seemed, was equally deaf, and gave him a gentle push in the direction of the door.

Turning towards Zell, he saw that the fighter was smiling. He had read everything, watching as it unfolded like a scenario in some fiction. Sitting down a little heavily in Irvine's chair, he placed both hands on his ears and growled to himself. _It's ok…its coming back now…_ He looked up at Zell, seeing that he was more badly bandaged then he first thought. "You look like a Marlboro gave you a hug." He muttered.

Zell took a bite of his hotdog confidently. "At least I don't look you when Rinoa walked in on you naked." He smiled, before tossing the remnants of the hotdog up and catching it in his mouth, swallowing with the motion. "You're face was almost as pale as it is now."

Squall's face took a one way trip to shock mix with embarrassment. He had agreed to go to the moved with Rinoa, Zell and Selphie, and had been changing when Rinoa had walked in on him. It had been early times then, she had been sleeping in one of the empty dorms, and Squall had simply told her to get out. It still haunted him, the way she looked at his scarred body… "She didn't…I mean, it didn't happen that way…I mean…" He regained some dignity and composure, before leaning close and whispering conspiritivly in Zells ear. "If you tell…"

Zell's smile grew larger – if possible – and wiped his mouth before raising two fingers clenched together. "Hey, no word from me, Scouts honour."

Squall leaned back in his chair. One thing about Zell was that he could defiantly keep a secret – if he had to. "Hard to believe you were in the Balamb Scouts…"

Zell snorted. "Hard to believe you weren't." Squall watched, slightly amused, as Zell leant back in his chair, allowing the two hotdogs to settle in his stomach before devouring the third and final one. "So how's it going with Rinoa, anyways?"

Squall suddenly felt his head pound, a repeat of the shotgun blast, and he leaned back and groaned. "It's like a nightmare that I can't wake up from. It's like one of those assignments that you have to complete but you know it's going to be awful. It's like taking on the whole Galbadian army with nothing but a chocobo leg."

Zell frowned. "Not very good, huh?"

Squall frowned. Didn't he understand? "Not at all. It's…great, in fact. It's like I have a whole new experience whenever I see her next. Good or bad, it doesn't really matter that much anymore." He sighed, remembering her face, the way she made everything fresh and interesting, the way she made people smile when she was around them…

Zell nodded sagely. "Ah. You like being surprised."

"Exactly."

Squall watched as Zell suddenly picked up his plate off the table – before someone crash tackled him to the ground, taking the table with them. Rolling over onto his back, ready to verbally insult whomever it was, he was kissed several times in rapid succession. _Oh. It's Rinoa. That's right. I was supposed to meet her here for lunch._

"Miss me?" Rinoa asked, his smile as warm and bright as ever. Squall bit down a reply that would embarrass himself immensely, and stood upright, watching as Zell took a bite from his hotdog. _You knew, you creep…_

Rinoa bounced up alongside Squall, looking down at Zell with amazement. "Hiya Zell! Gee, it looks like you've just tangled with four T-rexaurs in a row!" she said sweetly.

"Well, it was actually two…I needed the x-p."

Squall blinked. _Two?! Nobody said anything about it being two T-Reaxurs!!_ He looked down at Rinoa, who was looking up at him determinedly. _Oh boy…_

"How come you can't take on two T-rexaurs?"

"At the same time." Zell interjected, enjoying the show of emotion that drained onto Squalls face.

"Well…I …I could…" Squall muttered, thoroughly cowed.

"All by myself, too." Zell interjected once more. He smiled as the daggers conveyed by Squalls eyes were diffused by Rinoa's cry of jealousy.

"Ooo, no way! At the same time, all by yourself?!" Squall was suddenly yanked away from the over turned table by a determined Rinoa. "Come on, you! You've got some training to do!"

"But…but…" Squall protested meekly, realising that there wasn't much he could really do about it. He turned to looked at Zell for help, _anything, _but Rinoa yanked him out of the cafeteria before he could do anything.

*          *            *

_She started at his sudden viciousness, but before she could reply he was off, his black boots carving into the ground as he set off for the Sorceress once more, his eyes full of fire as his energy began to peak once more._

Dashing forward, he suddenly strafed to the right, the ground around him blasting to smithereens as the Firagas from Ultimecia's remaining hand reduced the floor around him to rubble. Flipping over a pool of fire, he suddenly stabbed his blade into the Protect, the energy device whining as the magical barrier began to repel it.

_The boy didn't let up, however, pushing further, faster, all his wounds seeming to gush blood as his body tensed for the effort, the blade beginning to _cut through the barrier,_ bright red sparks beginning to fly as the blade pushed deeper within the greenish-blue haze, stabbing deeper, his face sweating profusely with the effort as his screams began to echo around the empty landscape around them…_

_And then he was blasted, his body frying with the effects of a Flare, Ultimecia simply placing a hand over where the blade had been cutting and unleashing hell. His entire body was engulfed with flame, the remaining SeeDs screaming out as he disappeared from view…_

_…to reappear, smoking, but still alive. He had taken a Flare dead on, with no protection, and he still lived!!_

_"Ultimecia!!" The boy screamed, blood pouring from his scar, sweat dripping off his face, the sparks from his blade burning his eyes, "You're mine!!!"_

_Suddenly the barrier was dropped, and the gunblader leaped forward, the blade smashing the great Sorceress up, high into the sky._

_"Lion Heart!!"_

_Setting his stance, he leapt up to meet the monster, his blade hacking and cutting deep, the shimmering blue sword slicing through meat and bone, dicing organs and skin, reducing Ultimecia to nothing more then messy slush._

_Landing on his feet, he quickly twirled and blasted the remnants of the monster away, the Flare erupting from his fingertips reducing the remains to nothing more but ashes._

_She was finally dead. She was finally gone. Pitching forward, the boy let everything go, allowing nothing to keep him from the healing sleep…_

_Before a voice suddenly rang in his mind. "Squall!!"_

_He opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw that he was back at the orphanage. But…it wasn't _his_ orphanage._

_"Squall! Where are you?"_

_Sitting up, he watched as Matron, Edea, walked down the steps of the Orphanage doors. She started as she saw him. "Oh! Where did you come from…" Her voice trailed off as she saw his wounds. "My Hyne! What happened to you?"_

_"Matron…" the gunblader sighed, falling backward, falling to the lush greenery that he used to sit in when he was but a child, watching the flowers on the hills move with the wind…_

_A hand passed over his face, and he felt his pain recede, his wounds closing, his fatigue disappearing. Opening his eyes, he watched as Matron looked down on him, her eyes glowing a smoky white – before she blinked, the white light now gone._

_He sat up, still looking at him. "I'm a Sorceress…please don't tell the children…" she asked, looking down at her lap._

_He shook his head. "It's alright." He said, standing up, placing his hand on her shoulders and standing her up as well. "Although I think I ought to be going soon. I don't think this is my right time."_

_"What?" She asked, confused, before a smoking red light appeared behind her._

_Squall quickly pushed her behind him. "Watch out, Matron! She's evil!!" He shouted, quickly scooping up his LionHeart from the ground and flicking it on, the blue light-blade shimmering to life. "You still want some, Ultimecia!!"_

_"No Squall!!" Matron suddenly cried, jumping in front of him, blocking his advance with her body. "Don't you see that she's dying? She just needs to release her energy…that's all."_

_Turning to the dying Sorceress, Edea placed a hand on her bleeding chest. Almost immediately there was a powerful shockwave, and the smoke that was emanating from Ultimecia's body flowed into Edea's body, her arms and legs trembling with the power that was passed…_

_Before Ultimecia smiled, her eyes turning to Squall. Nodding knowingly he stepped forward quickly, the blade slashing through the air – to decapitate the Sorceress, her head sailing through the air with a look of peace – before it simply disintegrated, turning to dust as it tumbled through the air._

_Quickly dropping the LionHeart, Squall turned and caught Edea as she fell, the power too much for her. Resting against him, she looked up at him, her eyes full of wonder. "You…you're not supposed to be here, Squall…"_

_"You know me? You know about SeeD?" Squall asked, lowering her to the floor gradually, allowing her to sit._

_"SeeD?"_

_"SeeD is a mercenary group, made up of children around the world. It was created to kill the Sorceress…the Sorceress Ultimeica…we've finally accomplished it…"_

_"No more. Do not tell me anymore. It might upset the time flow." Edea said, taking a deep breath and standing. "You must go now. You cannot stay."_

_A small boy suddenly emerged from the bushes, his greyish-brown hair flowing around his sharply featured face. He couldn't be anymore then five or six. "Are you awright Matwon?" the boy asked, clutching the woman's long skirt as he looked up at the boy with his cold eyes. "Did this man hurt you?"_

_"No Squall, he helped me. Now go inside, the others were waiting for you."_

_The boy nodded, throwing another vehenemous glance at the gunblader, before running for the door. Edea turned back to Squall and smiled. "It's good to see that you turn out so strong…so mature."_

_The boy nodded as she raised her hand, placing it on his head. "Think of your friends, Squall…think of where they are…"_

_A flash – blinding light – doubts_

_*          *            *_

_He opened his eyes, looking around himself._

_He was back at the battle site. Looking down at his body, he saw that his wounds had returned, the stabbing pain enveloping him with a vengeance._

_He couldn't die here, however. He needed to live. Picking himself up, he looked left and right, seeing that the landscape seemed to go on forever._

_"Nothing goes forever…" He mumbled, walking forward slowly, a blood trail beginning to follow him as he trudged wearily into the NetherWorld of Time…_

*          *            *

Squall scratched the back of his neck. _How did I get into this?_ He asked himself as he looked up at the T-Rexaur. _I agreed to join the Garden Festival, but then Selphie walked off! She didn't help me at all!! Oh, how did I get into this?_

"Come on Squall!! Just one more!!" Rinoa cried from behind her rock.

Somehow a small crowd had gathered behind her, and Squall nodded at them, remembering that he had asked Xu to cordon off the Training Centre earlier that morning. His sides already ached from jumping and flipping past the last dinosaurs attacks. He wasn't so sure on wether or not he'd be able to take down another.

"Yeah! Go Squall!!" Someone else cried.

"Go for it Squall!" Someone else shouted.

"You can do it! Cut off his balls!!" Someone else screamed.

_…That's a little too much…_ Squall thought – before skidding to the side, the giant dinosaur's jaws chomping down on empty air.

He shifted his weight to the right, holding his arm out, palm out and fingers splayed – before Rinoa clucked tongue. "Uh-uh! No magic!"

_When did love get so hard?!_ Squall's mind screamed at him as the monster's thick tail suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Thinking with instinct only, the shimmering blue blade of the LionHeart slashed the tail off, the dinosaur's roar of pain only overcome by the shouts of encouragement and joy by the spectating students and SeeDs.

Flipping to the front of the roaring dinosaur, his blade slashed out once more, the shimmering blue blade seeming to pass from the left of the right of the dinosaur's belly in an instant – before it's gut spilled open, organs and liquids flowing out of the belly of the massive beast.

There were groans from the men and squeals from the woman and Squall quickly jumped out of the way of the wave of body parts, the monster now falling forward. Wanting to finish its pain, Squall jumped up, his sword held high – before he passed the head, landing on the balls of his feet. He casually pressed the deactivation button on his LionHeart, the blue blade dissipating, and he clipped it to his belt.

"Oh, that was so cool!!" Rinoa squealed, jumping off her rock and ploughing into Squall, smothering him with kisses before he could recognise what was going on.

There were a sudden mass of students and SeeDs around them, patting Squall's back and shouting compliments. He couldn't help but smile and shake some hands. Sure, killing two T-rexaurs barehanded and with a broken arm was cool – but taking out four in a manner of minutes with a gunblade was cooler. _Wait until Zell hears about this…he'll go ballistic…_ Squall thought to himself, revelling in the praise that people were giving him.

"Ok, ok, this place has been made a out-of –bounds area for a reason!" Xu said suddenly, pushing her way to move in front of Squall and raising her hands. "Go back to whatever you were doing, please!"

The crowd began to dissipate, and Rinoa beamed up at Squall. "See? Didn't that feel good?"

"Yeah…it kinda did…" Squall said, smiling back down at her.

"You'd get more of that if you opened up more." She said, moving forward to run a finger down his chest.

"That again…" He muttered, his smile growing wider as he bent down to the inviting red lips…

"Squall!!"

Squall looked up to see Seifer walking towards them. "I need to talk to you Squall. Now."

*          *            *

Squall ducked into the Dorms, heading for Irvine's room as the klaxon sounded again, grabbing everyone's attention, making them watch the screens that had lowered from the ceilings, the screens that he had thought had been a good time at the time.

"This particular Hero has hailed from not one, but two Gardens. I'm not talking about Selphie Tilmett – I'm talking about the Sorceress slayer himself. The one and only Irvine Kinnes."

Squall cursed himself for not being faster as he picked his way through the myriad of corridors, cursing himself for not making sure the security system on the screens weren't air-tight, cursing himself for everything that was happening around him, everyone who was gasping as the penny dropped.

"It seems, my dear Instructors and students, that Irvine Kinnes has been struck down by a most debilitating handicap. You see, Irvine is, in all manner of the words Magically Impotent. No magic can be cast from this man. He cannot junction. He cannot Draw. He cannot even cast the simplest of magic's, such as Fire, or Cure. He is so retarded, he has to use special ammunition in order to defeat his foes. This is the truth. You can ask him yourself."

Squall's spine turned to ice. Magically impotent. It was like walking up to a woman and asking her if she could take away your dignity.

Finally finding Irvine's room, he palmed the door.

It was locked.

"Shit!!" He gasped, ripping his LionHeart from his belt and pressing the button, the blade slashing out.

_"So, you are a stinking, filthy spy! You don't even deserve my mercy!!"_ Irvine's voice screamed, Squall's ears ringing with the madness of it all. He could envision it all – _Irvine blasting the kid's brains all over the place, having to be taken down in a blaze of Fire – _

The blade licked over the palm-reader, the device spluttering and sparking before the door opened of it's own accord…

…to reveal Irvine, his shotgun placed on the boy's head, his eyes full of madness as he pulled the trigger.

"Irvine!!" Squall shouted – before his voice was cut off by the hollow click of the shotgun.

"Oh gods! Oh Hyne!!" the boy cried, looking up to the crazy gunman from the floor with horror in his eyes. "Oh gods!!"

Irvine looked down at his shotgun, his look turning from madness to confusion – before he cracked the gun open, ejecting the shells onto the floor.

_They're already empty._ Squall realised. _He must've loaded the ones he fired in the cafeteria._

Irvine looked down at the boy, dropping his shotgun with a clatter. He looked down at the boy with empty eyes, his anger seeming to dissipate. "I hope you're happy. I'll spare your life. Only because I've figured out a better punishment then death for you." He reached down and gripped the boy's shirt, pushing his face into his. "Rotting in jail."

Squall walked forward slowly, flicking his LionHeart off. "Irvine? Are you alright?"

Irvine turned to Squall, looking at him with sadness in his eyes. "Yeah, Squall. I'm cool." He looked, however, up at the screen, the boy on the floor repeating what had been said for the last few seconds. "But I think my social life's gone bust."

Squall looked down at the boy, before looking at the empty weapon on the floor, before looking at his friend. "We'll forget about what happened in here. This didn't happen – see?"

"Yeah…yeah, I know."

"Bullshit it didn't happen!!" The boy on the floor screamed – before Irvine's Vincent suddenly flicked out, jamming into his eye-socket, forcing him down onto the ground.

"Irvine!!" Squall yelled, before the gunman raised a hand.

"I know, Squall. I ain't gonna to kill him. I'm over it now."

Squall nodded. "I'll go get Seifer. I'm sure he'll want to talk to this guy."

Turning and moving out of the room, he watched as many of the students looking up at the screens turned and began to move to the doorway._ Irvine has to figure this out._ His mind told him. _Go get Seifer._

He had pushed through the crowd before the other voice began to speak in his head. _Well, a great friend you are! First you ignore Quistis, now Irvine?! What kind of person are you?_

"…A good person…" he muttered, halting his step – before turning and walking back.

He had almost reached the doorway before he heard the laughter. He stopped, frowning, and listened.

"No way!!" A student cried. "You've been going through all those missions, even fighting a Sorceress, all without magic?! That's just so cool!!"

"Yeah! I suppose I never thought of it that way!!" Irvine replied happily.

"You must be one badass!" Another said. "I wouldn't want to fight you!!"

Squall began to walk away then, placing his hands in his pockets. Reaching the main hallway, he bumped into Rinoa, who was looking very worried. "Squall!! What's happened? Is Irvine alright?"

She frowned suddenly. "Squall? What's wrong with you? Are you alright?"

"What's wrong, Rin? You've never seen a smile before?"

"Squall Leonheart!! Was that a joke?! What have you done with the real Squall, you impostor!!"

Squall's grin grew larger as he pulled the woman he loved into a deep kiss, savouring her taste, melting within her.

He pulled back, looking down at her dreamy expression. "Oh…" she said slowly, looking up at him with contented eyes. "…there you are…"


End file.
